Trust
by babesrus2
Summary: What has Ranger done to Stephanie now? Has her trust been compromised? A Babe HEA.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own none of the recognizable characters so credit Janet Evanovich with that honor. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated. **

Chapter 1

Tank and Lester sat huddled in a corner of the hospital waiting room. The rest of the chairs were occupied by off-duty Rangemen, and friends and family of Stephanie Plum. Once again she had been the target and her wounds this time were serious enough to warrant some worry.

Magazines lay littered unread on coffee tables, cardboard carafe's of coffee sat with paper cups, creams and sugars placed throughout the room. There were numerous plates of sandwiches, fruit, bottles of water, and even some desserts to sample as the need or wish arose. For the most part, the room was quiet with only a few spoken whispers here and there.

Ranger walked into the room with Bobby trailing behind. Everybody rose to their feet and moved uncertainly toward the men. They were looking for facial expressions or body language to gauge their next feelings. Would it be dread, or relief.

Ranger cleared his throat. Everyone was hanging on his next words.

"She is holding her own. They removed two bullets that miraculously missed any vital organs. She is in recovery now and will be moved to a private room shortly. Her words to me before going into surgery were to tell you all that it was her fault for tripping the trap. She said not to blame yourselves. She was chasing her skip and didn't know we were in the area looking for ours. It was bad luck all around, but at least she will heal completely and nobody else got wounded or killed."

He walked over to Frank and Helen Plum. He shook Frank's hand and gave Helen a quick hug. He was not a touchy feely person but felt the need to reassure his in-laws. Frank looked at his eyes and saw only pain and concern. He nodded and patted Ranger on the back.

"It's late and we will leave you for the night. Call us if you need to. I spoke to Edna. She was making plans to fly home from her bus trip but I told her to hold off until I heard from you. She will be home in five days anyway. I am tempted to tell her to extend her stay. It is so much quieter at home without her. I haven't been awakened by the police bringing her home late at night for a month."

Ranger chuckled in spite of himself. Their battles were legendary and being a member of the family now he was subjected to weekly dinners at the Plum residence with all its drama, innuendo and hi-jinks that Edna could bring upon one household.

Lula and Connie were waiting by the door. Ranger walked to them. They had been worried for their friend and were there to lend them their support and friendship. Connie had already called Vinnie and updated him on the situation and had already made plans for flowers to be sent as soon as Stephanie was able to receive them. As usual, she had not asked permission. Vinnie knew which battles to fight and one as small as this was not worth it.

Ranger then strode over to Tank. He sat down heavily in the empty chair and put his head in his hands and sighed. "I just about lost her Tank. I don't know how long I can do this."

Tank put his large hand on Ranger's shoulder and squeezed. It was meant to comfort but Tank was very strong and his hand strength was considerable. Ranger winced in spite of himself, but felt better. His best friend understood.

Tank looked around the room. "The schedule is posted, men. Anyone not on shift, prepare to move. We have a company to look after. We are all tired and concerned for our Bomber, but you heard the boss, she will be fine."

The men not on duty prepared to leave. Bones and Woody had the first shift and headed down the hall to stand guard on the room. Tank, Bobby, Lester and Ranger stayed back. The room was now empty.

Ranger looked at them. He looked at Bobby before his next remark. "I take full responsibility for this. It is on my shoulders, and Bobby is not to be held in judgement. He was against it from the start."

The men nodded and stood up. Tank and Les each patted Ranger on the back. They prepared to leave. Bobby looked at Ranger. "You take off with them, Bobby. I will stay here until she is ready to leave. Have Ella send me a change of clothing."

He looked down at his blood stained uniform. Ranger had slowed the gushing blood from Stephanie's femoral artery before she could bleed out. If he had not been as strong as he was, she would not be laying in a hospital bed, but would now be taking up a spot in the morgue.

Ranger stood up and headed to the room. Stephanie was being moved from the gurney and onto the bed as he watched. The nursing staff were very efficient and making it look easy had her resting as comfortably in a hospital bed as they could arrange. She had a breathing tube, heart monitor, and bags of antibiotics, saline and blood hanging from a number of hooks on a pole by her bed.

With a nod to Ranger, they left the room, rolling the gurney in front of them. The door closed and Ranger was alone with his Babe. She looked so tiny in the big hospital bed. Her color was very pale from the loss of blood and as he looked at her, he could see another unit dripping precious life giving liquid into her. Her breathing was shallow but he knew that she would get stronger as the night progressed. He had been down this road too many times not to know the procedure.

He pulled a straight backed chair to the bed, sat down and took her small hand in his. He prepared for a long night and hoped that she would open her eyes soon. He played with her wedding band almost hypnotically and let his mind wander.

~~~o0o~~~ Flashback ~~~o0o~~~

He and Stephanie had disappeared in the dead of night eight months ago and headed for Las Vegas. They were quietly married with only Tank and Lula as witnesses to their personal vows in a small chapel off the strip. They had then arranged to take a month off and had travelled to a number of Caribbean islands, soaking up the sunshine and getting to know each other as husband and wife. Tank was kept appraised of their destinations and whenever they phoned he relayed that the winter was hard and long and they were much better off where they were. It was setting up to be the longest winter in New Jersey's recordable history and spring could not come soon enough.

They had talked about finding a place to live outside of Rangeman, but either they didn't like the place, it was not set up for a proper security system or time constraints made the distance too far to consider. Consequently they were still occupying seven in the building and seemed to be quite comfortable there. The commute was so much quicker and Stephanie loved how she could take an additional forty winks leaving her plenty of time to still do her usual routine and make it to work in time for the morning meeting.

She refused to budge on her exercise routine before lunch time but barely balked at range practice or self defense training now. She had been cleared for wearing two guns and a knife and could get herself out of handcuffs almost as fast as Ranger. Lord knew she had to. In the beginning she would find herself handcuffed to everything in the apartment at one time or another as her husband would sneak up and cuff her to anything within reach. It was now actually quite erotic and she had even caught him a time or two, quite a feat in her opinion.

Business was good. Security took on a whole new meaning during recession and crime was big business. Rangeman was poised to move into a new city and final plans were underway. They were in the legal stages of acquiring and amalgamating a number of small businesses in Detroit. A building had been procured and was being renovated at that moment and would be ready in a month.

Ranger had planned that he and Tank would reside in Detroit for two months setting it up to Rangeman standards with the help of Cal and Ram. They both had family in the area and had leapt at the chance to move closer to home. They had rekindled some romance with former girlfriends and it was starting to look serious. They were being groomed to take over that satellite and felt honored to be chosen. More staff would be hired or transferred as needed and business grew.

Lula and Stephanie had made plans to travel back and forth. Lula was not yet ready to make a full time commitment to that relationship but hearing that Tank would be away that long had changed her outlook on her Tankie Bear being out of her sight and arms for too long. Stephanie had rolled her eyes at Ranger's suggestion that she wait for him to come home on weekends. He had reasoned that 14-18 hour days left little time for them. She countered that he needed to have the business up and running and she could help in the research and apprehension departments. Her other suggestion that having a female in the office would keep the cougars of Detroit at bay had made him blanch in spite of his stern expression. She really did have his six.

The time had flown by and starting up Detroit had gone smoothly. Tank and Ranger had returned and Cal and Ram were turning into a good team. They were slowly adding in more staff. Eric and Junior had joined them and were helping enlarge the business. Some contract employees had joined the team and they were all hard at work. The Core Team had made frequent trips there and came back with positive reports.

~~~o0o~~~ End of Flashback ~~~o0

He looked at her. They had started to talk about having a family. Time waits for no man and their biological clocks were starting to chime quarter hours. Ranger had completed all his contractual obligations over a year ago so he no longer feared the late night phone calls taking him away from his babe.

Ranger looked down. His Babe was starting to stir. Her eyelids began to flutter. He watched carefully as her eyes slowly opened. She tried to focus. He stood so that she did not have to strain. She knew he was there. They always knew when each other was close. He squeezed her hand gently and she attempted to smile around the breathing tube. Ranger leaned over and gave her a gentle kiss on her forehead. She looked at him and he knew the questions she wanted answered. He spoke. "Hey, Babe. Nice to see those big, beautiful eyes. You will be fine. The bullets missed everything important but you will have a couple more cute scars."

Her eyes tracked him as he carefully sat on her bed. She tried to move to give him more room but winced at the pain. He rubbed her arm lovingly and spoke again. "The doctor said you will be out of action for awhile. One bullet clipped your femoral artery so you will need a little more blood to replace what you lost. You will be on very restricted duty for awhile as you heal. The other shattered a rib so that too will take some time to heal. I've had a rib injury like that and Babe, it's going to hurt like a bitch."

He swallowed and looked at her. "Stephanie, I just about lost you this time."

She lifted her hand and rubbed his arm soothingly. Her eyes closed and she drifted off. Ranger shuddered in spite of himself. He had done it for love and concern, but would she forgive him when she found out?


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow, thanks for all the positive reviews. Thanks Janet for the characters. I promise to not abuse them: darn, I got Stephanie shot. My bad. **

Chapter 2

Ranger accepted the duffle of clothing at the door. He figured he had just enough time to take a quick shower and change before Stephanie woke up again. He jumped into the shower, scrubbing the dried blood from his body. He changed into a new uniform and stuffed all the used clothing into the duffle for Ella to either dispose of or attempt to clean.

Ranger headed back to her bedside. She was still asleep, but her color was continuing to improve. A nurse stepped into the room and checked the monitors and the fluid levels on the bags. She marked down her blood pressure numbers and her oxygen level, then gently pushed up one eyelid and checked her reflexes with a flashlight. Nodding to Ranger, she quietly left the room, closing the door softly. Ranger took her tiny hand in his again and watched her.

Soon, but not soon enough for him, her eyelids fluttered and she opened her eyes again. This time she was looking a bit better. He sat on the edge of the bed in her line of sight and caressed her cheek. He leaned down and gave her a kiss on her lips. He found it mildly distressing that he had learned how to kiss around a breathing tube. Her lips felt chapped so he took a swab and gently rubbed lip balm over them, paying special attention to the area close to the breathing tube.

Her brilliant blue eyes were still a bit on the dim side, but they were assessing him with a stare worthy of Tank. Ranger continued to hold her hand.

Morning came. Stephanie had drifted in and out of consciousness. Ranger had stayed either in the straight-backed chair or sat carefully on the bed in her line of sight. He had been cognizant of the shift changes outside the door. Mentally he kept track of the time by the number of two hour shift changes.

The doctor walked into the room. Ranger stood up to give him room to conduct his examination, but he was standing close by to observe his facial expression. The doctor did not seem concerned and Ranger could feel himself relax. Dr. Evans, very well known to Rangeman, cleared his throat as he looked up from the chart. He could sense both Ranger and Stephanie hanging on his words.

"I swear, Stephanie, you are like a cat. Maybe even more than one cat, with the lives you possess. If it had not been for Ranger, we would not be having this conversation. We were able to repair the damage from the two bullets, but you will be forced to endure a period of inactivity in the near future as your rib and leg heals. Femoral damage cannot be trivialized and you need the time to heal."

He put his hand up in a stop motion. "I can already hear your question, and you will be able to go home in three days. I know Bobby is an excellent medic, but we need to get some more fluids in you and make sure everything is stabilized before we release you. You are recovering at a phenomenal rate and I can only assume it is your healthy lifestyle that is contributing to that. I will give orders that the tube can be removed now that you are awake."

He chuckled. "Nobody wants to kiss around that for any length of time, do we?" as he looked at Ranger.

Ranger grunted and looked like he was going to respond to the challenge. Stephanie gently slapped her hand on the bed and both men looked at her. She pointed to the tube and grimaced. Dr. Evans laughed and headed for the door. He looked back at the two love birds holding hands again.

"And don't sneak any food into the room yet. You are on an IV today, then clear liquids later tonight and maybe soft tomorrow so you don't hurt your throat. No donuts until you are released!" He glared at her then sighed. He had no doubt that she would cajole one of the guys to sneak one to her before she left. The nursing station had already set up the bet board the minute she had been wheeled into the room. He had a ten on tomorrow after breakfast. He figured there was a better than even chance that he would lose his money.

Ranger sat on the bed once again. He was holding her hand. She gestured to him then to her mouth. He shook his head. He had not taken the time to eat anything. She frowned, disengaged her hand from his and pointed to the door. He shook his head. She tried to glare and pointed at the door again. Ranger sighed. He stood up and walked to the door. Standing guard was Tank and Brett. He pulled Tank into the room.

"Stay in here while I dash down and grab something to eat. I will be back very, very soon." He walked to the door and slipped through. Tank came over to the bed and smiled. Stephanie put her hand up and accepted a gentle high five. She was the only one who was able to make him look after himself.

Tank looked down at her. She was looking much better than the last time he had seen her. When she had been shot, Ranger had dashed to her side. He had quickly assessed the gushing wound and had pushed down with all his strength to control the out flow. Tank had been back at the command post but had raced to the scene where he found Ranger frantically trying to stem the flow of blood. He had used his belt as a tourniquet and tightened it around her leg while Ranger continued to press down. Tank had then scooped her up and with Ranger still applying pressure they had run to a vehicle. He could see life slipping away from her as they desperately drove to the hospital. They had not taken the time to wait for an ambulance. Hector had phoned in the details and the medical staff were standing by when they arrived.

Bobby was at Rangeman when he received the call from Ranger and had been dispatched from Rangeman with the little box. It was sitting in a locked drawer in Ranger's desk waiting for the right time. Ranger had given Bobby a direct order to open his drawer, retrieve the box and bring it to the hospital as soon as he could get there. Bobby had not agreed to this and had voiced his objection at the Core Meeting just a week ago. Unfortunately, they would lose the window if it was not done soon and Ranger had made the executive decision to have it implanted in Stephanie while she was still on the operating room table. As her husband and employer, he held her Medical Power of Attorney and had signed the forms for Dr. Evans to surgically place it in Stephanie. There was a full list of instructions included.

Bobby grimaced. He had half jokingly asked Ranger a number of times over the years if they could just implant something in the Bomber to always keep track of her. It would be so much easier to find her when she went off-line. Every man on staff could count the many times she had disappeared without a trace and no trackers to assist them in their quest to find her. Ranger had sighed each time and mumbled, "I wish I could, but she would kill me."

It was a two year trial and the timeline would start when the surgeon plugged the two wires on the unit together.

~~~o0o~~~

Ranger had gotten wind of a research project while in Washington on business and had tentatively signed up a member of Rangeman to participate. It was being tested to eventually keep track of very high ranking diplomats and politicians. There were only 20 being tested and a myriad of willing candidates had been chosen from the hundreds of people who had been nominated in the military community. He had originally planned on one of the Core Team to be the guinea pig, but the injury to Stephanie and the way it had gone down had forced his hand.

He figured he would deal with the backlash later. She routinely left her trackers, panic button and cell phone back in their suite or in her desk when she wanted to be alone. Ranger had a mental list of places she usually headed to and would find her at one of them, sitting and contemplating something important to her. It was happening too frequently for his sanity and he had finally convinced her to spill what was bothering her.

~~~o0o~~~

Eight months ago she had done it and he had found her at Point Pleasant sitting on the sand watching the water, deep in thought. It was late in November and the winds coming off the water were cold. He had quietly come up to her. She knew he was near as he had seen her rub the back of her neck, then continued to look out. She had accepted his proposal of marriage there. Up until then she had adamantly refused to even contemplate such a life-changing situation again. The bad taste in her mouth just thinking of marriage had scared her to the point that she did not even want to think of travelling down that road again. Looking at the dark and churning water, she had come to the conclusion that it was not the word marriage that scared her, but who she had refused to agree to marry. She felt calmness envelope her and when Ranger had arrived she had already made up her mind.

They sat watching the sun dip below the horizon as Stephanie poured out her feelings. She professed her love to him and her desire for a long life together as man and wife. He had once again pulled out the little blue velvet box and opening it, took her left hand in his and carefully slipped the gorgeous engagement ring on her ring finger. It sparkled as they kissed.

They did not return to Trenton for four days and when they did, she was sporting a set of wedding rings set in platinum which interlocked on each side of the engagement ring. Tank had flown to Las Vegas with Lula to witness their vows and he was charged with bringing the rings in their satin lined boxes that had been locked in Ranger's safe for over a year.

The next time she had ditched her trackers was when they were discussing where to live. She wanted to think about her options and they had then made the decision to stay on seven. It was not the place she felt anxious about, but the feeling that she was part of a community in the building. Of course they had the privacy they craved, but the fact that if she wished, she could participate in the after hours movie nights, pizza parties and general pranks and mayhem that grown men get into on occasion. She felt these men were more her family than her biological family at times, although she was close with them. The fact that they shared danger and life incidents made them a perfect if not dysfunctional family unit. She was not willing to change that, and as much as Ranger had been willing to find a new home if she wanted, she was content with the current arrangement. This time, Ranger had found her sitting on the hood of her car on a hill overlooking Trenton.

The next time had been after they had attended a family barbeque at his parent's house. The house and yard had been overrun with children running and playing. Her eyes had changed expression at the scene in front of her. Ranger had never expressed an interest in starting another family but he could see that Stephanie was looking at possibly re-opening the discussion. She had been adamant in the past that she did not want to have children, but it appeared that her opinion was starting to change. Ranger had found her looking at pictures of him as a baby at his parent's house.

Maria could see the indecision as she wrested with the question. As any grandmother could attest, more grandchildren were a blessing but Carlos and Stephanie were like no other married couple in her family. Their lives were full of danger and intrigue. It would mean that they would be tying themselves down for many years. Were they ready?

His mother had called Carlos and told him that Stephanie was safe and sitting in their living room. Ranger had cancelled the all out search and had driven to the family home. He found her sitting in his bedroom surrounded by all his trophies, toys and memories of growing up in a family full of children.

The final straw had been when their individual chases had crossed and gunfire had broken out. Stephanie had been caught in the crossfire, hence her emergency admission to the hospital and their current position.

She had been out all day with Lula tracking down their skip. His bond was coming due and there was a sense of urgency every time she set foot in the bond office. Vinnie was becoming more desperate as each day passed. The bond was over her usual amount but she had been training with the men and wanted to take a crack at it. Finally they had received a tip from Amy Johanson, a teller at the bank that Monty had changed his home address and had advised the bank. She had slipped it to Stephanie with her cash.

~~~o0o~~~

Ranger walked back into the room. Stephanie was dozing and Tank had taken up guard in the straight backed chair, leaning against the wall. He had line of sight on both the door and Stephanie. He stood up when Ranger came closer. He put his hand on Ranger's shoulder and smiled. "She knows which buttons to push, you know. I don't feel sorry for you, my friend, but you are well and truly whipped. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy."

With that, Tank slipped out the door. Ranger repositioned his chair and clasped her hand once more. His eyes closed and he took his first nap since she had been shot.

Stephanie opened her eyes. She looked around. Ranger had his eyes closed and she checked over his features. He looked tired. He was starting to get a few crow's feet wrinkles, no doubt worrying about her, she thought. Maybe it was time to give up bounty hunting. She had not prepared properly for the last apprehension. She blamed herself for the mess she was in.

It could have been a lot worse. Lula was far behind her as they chased Monty Scotland. She had ignored her spidey sense warning her that there was something wrong. Unfortunately, his bond was coming due and he was worth enough money that Lula would be able to pay for next month's rent with this capture. Stephanie did not need the money, but the thrill of the chase was something she revelled in. Until now.

Something to think about.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you once again for all the reviews. Janet, I plan on giving the characters back to you, later. **

Chapter 3

As the doctor had suspected, one of the door guards slipped in a donut to Stephanie before his shift began. It was just past 4 am when he came on duty. The nurse at the station spied a brown bag peeking out from his jacket and checked her watch. Sally noted the time on the board. Darn, Marjorie had guessed right again. She seemed to have a special intuition when things like this occurred. She was getting a pretty nice shopping trip out of the deal.

Cesar put the bag on the side table and tiptoed out. Stephanie stirred and smiled. Her guys were looking after her. She looked around, reached over and grabbed the bag. She pulled the donut out of the bag, took her first bite and moaned. Cesar and Binkie smiled. They fist bumped and resumed their positions on either side of the door.

Binkie nodded that he had the door and Cesar slipped in to grab the bag and dispose of the evidence. Stephanie had her eyes closed but softly spoke. "I don't know what I would do without my family to watch over me. Thank you." She never opened her eyes preferring not to know in case she was grilled for a name. Cesar smiled and backed out the door.

Ranger walked toward the room. He had taken a two minute walk to stretch his very stiff muscles. He strode into the room, looked at Stephanie and a small smile peeked out. He went up to Stephanie and gave her a kiss tasting sugar on her lips. He could see a couple of multicolored sprinkles on the edge of her mouth and crumbs on her hospital johnny. He knew it was one of his guards but he was not about to drag it out of them who had snuck in the contraband. It would be their little secret.

He sat down in the chair again and they clasped hands. Stephanie was looking much better. They had discontinued the blood transfusions and she was scheduled to be allowed to sit up this morning. She was gearing up to petition an early release from the hospital and Ranger could already anticipate the back and forth between Dr. Evans and Stephanie. Ranger knew, as well as Dr. Evans that he would grudgingly approve the release later that day. Bobby was very efficient and she would get top notch care back at Rangeman. Possibly the whole hospital knew of Stephanie's aversion to hospitals in general, and this one in particular. There was its own version of the grapevine here and anything happening was instantly relayed to the Burg.

Morning found Stephanie sitting in an easy chair. She had eaten the hospital version of breakfast under protest and felt relief that she had consumed the donut earlier. She was waiting for Dr. Evans to make his appearance. She wanted out, preferably within the hour, but was willing to settle for later that afternoon. That would give Rangeman time to pack up everything and prepare to evacuate the private room and the waiting room down the hall.

As in the past, Dr. Evans listened to Stephanie's arguments and promises. She even resorted to pleading to be released. He smiled in spite of himself. She really gave good arguments any time she was anywhere near the hospital. He had no doubt that she would probably do only fifty percent what she promised, but pain would dictate her movements upon release. He finally took pity on her, reached into the big pocket of his lab coat and handed her her release papers.

Ranger headed for the door. He spoke to Manny who was now on duty and started the process for clearing out of the hospital. Barely one hour had passed and everything was running smoothly. One would normally be surprised at the speed, but enough members had been injured and hospitalized that there was a set protocol for discharge. Bobby was already ready for her to continue her recovery at Rangeman. He always tried to give her choices with respect to her treatment and this time being no different he had asked whether she preferred to stay in the hospital suite on four or up on seven. Not surprising, she had chosen their apartment.

Ella had already prepared the suite for an injured occupant. She had soups and soft foods in the fridge, extra pillows both on the bed and in the corner of the couch to support her when she felt able to make her way to the living room. There was a pile of movies within reach with Ghostbusters prominently on top. Louis had re-installed the grab bar in the shower along with a panic button within easy reach.

Zero had taken the wheel of the SUV with Brett as shotgun and Stephanie and Ranger sat in the back on the way to Rangeman. He had held her hand the whole way. Stephanie tried to reach around and unhook her seatbelt, but Ranger's hand was already there and the lock popped open.

"Careful, Babe. It's going to hurt getting out." Ranger jumped out of the back seat and was already around to the other side opening the back door. He scooped her up bridal style, carrying her to the elevator which was standing open. He tried to be careful of her damaged rib and leg, but any movement made her hiss in pain and sweat popped out on her forehead. She grasped Ranger a bit tighter as they headed for the elevator. They both knew that the elevator would stop on five automatically where the men would want to welcome her back, if only for a few minutes. She pressed hands as Ranger walked around the control room then back onto the elevator for the short trip to seven. The apartment door was propped open and Ranger carried her into the bedroom. He gently set her down near the bathroom and she walked in to do her business before walking gingerly to the bed. Ranger tucked her in and gave her a gentle kiss. Stephanie was looking exhausted and fell asleep before he could even walk out the door.

Bobby was waiting in the living room with Ella. Ranger walked out and Bobby took his place, checking her pulse, blood pressure and peeking under her bandages for seepage. He returned to the living room, nodded at Ranger and Ella and left. On the nightstand were pain meds, antibiotics and water with clear instructions on use.

Ella shooed Ranger out the door. He could head to five for a meeting with Tank, take out some stress in the gym or crash in his office for a short nap. Ella had brought up some ironing and would stay with Stephanie until she was relieved.

Stephanie woke up. She was feeling grungy. She desperately wanted a shower to wash off the icky hospital smells she associated with torture of the worst kind. Finding nobody around watching her every move, she gently flipped the blanket off herself and prepared to leave the bed. Removing the blanket did not hurt too much as it was the other side of her ribs that hurt, but the movement to leave the bed, or attempted movement sent waves of pain up and down her body. In spite of herself, she groaned. Ella appeared instantly in the doorway. She came into the room, waving her forefinger back and forth in a no-no gesture and spoke. "Stephanie dear, you need help so soon after your injuries. Let me help you."

With Ella providing much needed support, Stephanie managed to get out of the bed and into the bathroom. After doing her business, she looked longingly at the shower. Ella was standing by the closed door. She seemed to have ESP through the door and spoke. "There are lots of towels by the shower. I adjusted where the shampoo and body wash was so you don't have to reach. Do you want help or should I just stay in listening distance?"

Stephanie considered her options. Unfortunately, she would be unable to lift her one arm over her head and the t-shirt she was wearing was neither buttoned nor zippered. Also, there was the small problem of needing her bandages changed to waterproof ones. She sighed in frustration. She would need Ella's help.

Ella came in with all the medical supplies in her hand. Like Bobby, she liked to give her choices but knew that for a few days, she would be needing assistance, willing or not. Efficiently, Ella changed her bandages, then helped her disrobe. She turned on the shower and set it to warm but not too warm. She also put the shower onto a gentle spray so the normally hard spray setting did not pound her into the floor of the shower. Stephanie carefully walked in and closed the door. Unfortunately she would need Ella's help for her hair. Lifting up her arms to wash and rinse that wild mass of curls would take more energy and range of motion that she could handle right now.

Standing under the gentle rain shower, Stephanie revelled in its soothing nature. She was about to call Ella when the shower door opened, and a very naked Ranger stepped in. He turned her around and grabbing her favorite shampoo, massaged the shampoo into her hair, rubbing the pads of his fingers over her scalp gently. He backed her under the showerhead and rinsed out her hair, then poured conditioner into the palm of his hand and gently kneaded it into her hair. While it was doing its job, Ranger carefully washed her with the loofah sponge infused with his bulgari. It was all done with love and care. He then guided her back under the spray and rinsed out the conditioner and the body wash. He turned off the shower and reached out for a towel. He took the towel and gently dried her, tossing it to the floor of the bathroom and taking another to wrap it around tucking the edges in between her breasts. Ranger grabbed one more towel to squeeze dry her hair. One again it hit the floor and another one was in his hand. He carefully wrapped another around her head. Ranger then put one around his waist and tucked it in securely.

Ranger took Stephanie by the elbow and gently guided her back into the bedroom. There was a new t-shirt and panties waiting and he helped her into the shirt, doing all the work without her lifting the arm on her bad side. He helped her back into bed and headed into the closet, re-appearing moments later dressed in a pair of sweat pants that hung low over his abs. He had a shirt in his hand which he put on before climbing into bed beside her.

Ranger had a comb in his hand and carefully worked his way through her curly hair. He was careful and she hardly grimaced from any tugging as he combed her through.

She snuggled up to him and sighed. She had missed her Cuban sex-god furnace and hoped her hormones would take the shock of enforced chastity. She envisioned a lot of donuts for a couple of weeks, or at the very least, some of Ella's decadent desserts. She cursed Dr. Evan's rules about no physical activity beyond short walks for three weeks.

Stephanie played with Rangers abs, lightly drawing a finger over each rippled mass of muscle. She was deep in thought. Ranger watched her brow. Her face was so very expressive. She would never survive a game of poker or hold back a thought for long. He could tell something was bothering her. He waited.

"I messed up your take-down. Did you ever get your skip? I assume that Lula missed out on our bond too. She really needed it for her rent."

Stephanie drew more lines, almost hypnotically. Ranger's muscles twitched at the feather light touch. He found it extremely erotic and if she had not been injured, he would have upped his next moves by now. Instead, he lay quietly. She needed to finish her thought pattern or it would bother her until she could relieve her mind of the questions, and the what-ifs.

Finally, she finished her internal dialogue with herself and looked up at him. He took her hand in his. "While Tank and I were racing you to the hospital, the rest of the team took down both our guy and yours at the same time. They found Monty Scotland hiding behind a garbage bin and when he saw the guys practically begged to be saved and brought in. Lula already collected the receipt and has her money. We took down our skip, Larry Songstra and got him back in the system at the same time. Everything is good, Babe. Don't worry. Rangeman is picking up your skips for the foreseeable future, but Tank talked to Lula and she wants to start taking some on her own. She thinks with some back-up, she can be almost as bad-ass as you, but without your spidey sense. Tank's working on trying to get her to register at least one of her guns."

Stephanie nodded. She was sure that Lula was ready to start on her own. They had been partners for a number of years and enjoyed working together, but Lula took more pleasure in it now and for some reason managed to stay relatively clean by the end of the day. Something to consider.

Stephanie snuggled into Ranger's side. She lay her head against his shoulder and let her mind and body relax. Very soon Ranger heard her sleepy sounds coming out of her mouth. Even in sleep she made little murmurs of happiness.

He lay there thinking. How was he going to approach what he had had put into her body without her permission. They had finally come to the crossroads and there were yield and stop signs up ahead.

His window was closing fast.

**Ranger is telling her tomorrow.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Once again, thank you for all the reviews. And now for the reveal...**

Chapter 4

Stephanie woke up. The other half of the bed felt cool to the touch and she realized she was alone in the room. She could hear voices in the other room getting louder then quieting down. Stephanie checked out her status. She really needed to use the bathroom. She slowly maneuvered herself to the side of the bed and carefully swung her legs over the edge. Tentatively she pulled herself to a sitting position, resting as a wave of dizziness washed over her. Taking it slowly she used the night stand for support and slowly rose to her feet. Resting for a moment once again, she slowly shuffled to the bathroom. Feeling proud of herself she managed to do what needed to be done and looked at the shower.

Before she turned on the shower, she attempted to remove the t shirt that was standing in the way of her objective. She worked her good arm out of the sleeve, carefully lifted the shirt over her head and sliding the shirt down her bad side tossed it in a corner. Now that the difficult part was done, she turned on the shower and stepped in. She took a quick shower not getting her hair wet. She could feel a presence in the small room as she turned off the water. Opening the door she reached out and a towel was placed in her hand. She closed the door and swiftly dried off as well as she could, then opened the door again to accept another towel to wrap around herself.

Stephanie stepped out of the shower. Ranger was leaning against the vanity. He noted how pleased she was at her progress. He opened the door and followed her into the bedroom. This time there was a t-shirt and baggy gym shorts on the bed. With a little help she got dressed and headed to the living room. She was tired of the four walls of the bedroom. Bobby was sitting in the living room with his bag on the floor by his chair. He motioned her to the couch. He took her by the elbow and assisted her as she carefully sat down. Stephanie had always thought the couch was quite high, but with her injuries and stitches, it felt like it was six inches off the ground. She finally settled in with a sigh of relief.

Asking for permission, Bobby carefully lifted her shirt and removed the wet bandage. He inspected her wound in the rib area. He nodded in satisfaction and changed that bandage to a clean and dry one. He had applied some ointment to the wound area to speed healing and minimize the scar. Next he removed the bandage on her leg. This was the first time Stephanie had seen it and grimaced. It was an ugly wound and definitely would leave a lasting reminder of the incident. Once again he put some ointment on the wound and re-bandaged it. Surprising her, he asked her to lean forward and he checked something on her back by her shoulder blade. She had no idea what had happened there but suspected when she fell she must have scuffed herself. Once again Bobby put some ointment on the site and put a small bandage there.

Stephanie sat back. It was nice to be in another room and although the shower had tired her out, she was unwilling to allow herself to drift off again. She was tired of sleeping and hoped someone would keep her company and talk to her for awhile.

Ranger looked over Stephanie's head and nodded his head to Bobby and Ella. It was time to tell her and he did not want them to have to assume any responsibility for his action. They each gave her a kiss on the cheek and left the apartment.

Ranger sat down next to Stephanie and took her hand in his. She could feel the air in the room change. Her heart clenched in fear. Had something happened? Had someone gotten hurt? Was her family OK? All kinds of horrible possibilities came rushing into her brain and she tensed in spite of herself. She hissed as her ribs complained. She looked at Ranger.

Ranger was rubbing the top of her hand, and playing with her wedding rings. He seemed deep in thought. Stephanie willed herself to stay calm and wait. He needed to marshal his thoughts too. Unfortunately, he had his blank face on and she was unable to read his expression. Finally he looked at her.

"Stephanie." Oh, oh. He was calling her by her real name. "My life has been full of danger for many years yet I have never felt true fear like I have experienced since I met you. I have seen you kidnapped, beaten, shot, or involved in explosions both in your apartment or your cars."

He carefully picked her up and set her on his lap. He kissed her on the lips and leaned his forehead against her forehead.

"Some of the time your trackers and panic button have saved you, and sometimes you have deliberately left them all somewhere where you are not. You have no idea how hard it is for my men and I to wonder where you are, how you are, and if you are still alive sometimes. "

He took her hand and rubbed her forearm absent mindedly. "We pride ourselves on trying to be as safe as we can knowing the danger we live in at any given time. We know we have back-up just a call away or right around the corner."

Ranger gently set her back onto the couch. He stood up and paced the room. Stephanie could see the internal battle he was having.

"Ranger, just spit it out. I'm a big girl. I trust you with my life."

Ranger stopped and looked at her. He looked at the bandage on her leg. He spoke. "Babe, the bullet that hit your rib was fired from a Rangeman weapon. The one that you almost bled out from was fired from my skip. You ran right into our line of fire. My men are feeling horrible that it might have been their weapon that fired one of the bullets. Tank and I have identified which weapon fired that shot but we are planning to never release that information. If he ever found out, it would be devastating."

He knelt in front of her. Ranger looked her in the eyes.

"Babe." Much better. "On my last trip to Washington I became aware of a pilot project, a human experiment, if you want to call it. They were asking for volunteers to test out a device. They want to eventually be able to keep track of very senior politicians, like our Secretary of State, or diplomats based in troubled countries. Before it is approved, they needed 20 people to have a devise implanted in them and to be tracked for a period of two years. I volunteered Rangeman as one of the candidates with the idea that one of the Core Team would be the guinea pig.

He looked at her. She had not taken her eyes off him. He squeezed her hand. "We received confirmation that we would be receiving one of the units with full instructions on its use, its range, and any side effects. A team will be stopping by to gather the data periodically and question the candidate."

Stephanie stiffened in spite of herself. The world around her slowed down as she looked at Ranger. She held her breath. "Continue."

He sighed. This was going to be the hard part. Ranger knew how she hated not to have choices. He tried to give her the complete version and reasons why he wanted to or needed her to do something, but in the past there were times when he had overstepped his bounds and had forced her against her will. Everyone knew of the safe-house fiascos, the enforced imprisonment on seven during the Junkman events, the Stiva affair, Scrog, and the threats during the Abruzzi affair.

Ranger spoke again. "Babe, the time line for the insertion was set at one week after delivery or the experiment was deemed over. Unfortunately we had not made a decision on who was getting it implanted. I had originally thought I would take it, but sometimes I need to disappear and the Core Team disagreed with my choice. Then you got shot. I had the unit brought over and while you were under, had Dr. Evans implant it in you. I have your Medical POA and it just needed a signature. We just made it under the wire and it has already been activated."

Stephanie tried to stand up. She couldn't believe it. Once again they had done something to her behind her back. She started to tremble. Tears mixed with anger. This was too much to grasp at one time. They had actually put something in her body without her permission that would be there for two years? Two years seemed like a lifetime away. She felt like a dog who had visited the vet to be chipped. She was a walking experiment and she had not even been asked?

Thoughts were rolling around in her head. How dare they? How dare he?

Stephanie now understood Bobby checking by her shoulder blade. If she could reach it, she would have used her knife to remove it at that moment. She looked at Ranger. If she could reach it, she would remove it, and insert it in Ranger after stunning him first. Or maybe she should just get her gun and shoot him first, then insert it in the bullet hole.

Ranger looked at her with alarm. Her face was so very expressive that he could almost hear the dialogue she had just given herself. He thanked the gods that he had told her while they were on the couch. He mentally catalogued where each gun was in the apartment. Thank goodness he had removed the one nestled between the arm and seat cushion yesterday. Ella had mentioned that the leather was being rubbed by the weapon when someone sat or lay down. He had not found a new place yet. He figured it better stay in the safe for the time being.

Ranger looked at Stephanie. She had not said a word yet. Not a good sign. He had always firmly believed that she was a firey-tempered red-head disguised as a curly haired brunette. He could see the lava rising to the surface and looked like it was going to blow any minute. She was fighting the pain as her body pulsed in anger. He had expected some opposition but he figured that her temper was at the boiling point right about now.

He attempted to take her hand. Stephanie pulled it away and put it behind her back. She reached down into the side of the couch where the Glock had resided until its removal. She struggled to her feet. Ranger made a mental note that Bobby better re-check her stitches. He would be surprised if she didn't tear some of them. She put her hand on the back of the couch to steady herself. The sudden move had made her dizzy but she willed herself to ignore the symptoms. She hissed at the pain rolling through her body.

Stephanie took a step. She took another. The pain was getting worse. She saw the edges of her vision start to blacken and close in. She felt herself falling. She never felt Ranger catch her.

Stephanie woke up slowly. She was back in bed. She could hear Ranger and Bobby in the living room. Their voices were quiet but she could just catch small snatches of the conversation. Bobby sounded really pissed and Ranger had threatened him with mat time. Bobby had laughed in derision. He couldn't defeat Ranger, but he would get in some blows.

Finally the talking stopped and the door to the apartment opened and closed. She assumed that Bobby had left. She hoped that they both had left. Right now she was not particularly interested in seeing anybody. If she had been mobile she would have grabbed her keys and left the building.

She grimaced. Oh yeah. Like that would really work now. She was a walking tracker. She could never take off and find a place to think. They would track her every moment, even when she went to the bathroom. She looked around. There wasn't anything good to throw. Stephanie pounded her fists into Ranger's pillow. How could he?

Ranger walked into the room. He had heard her pound the pillow in frustration. He stood by the door.

Stephanie looked at him standing by the door. She bristled. "There is always a reason I ditched my trackers. I needed to get away and think. I needed to process what is happening with my life, and my emotions. You are now telling me that I can never get away to figure out something without somebody knowing where I am at all times of the day or night. You had no right, Ranger! You had no right!"

Stephanie lay back against the pillows. How dare he do something behind her back again. She stiffened in spite of the pain. She looked at Ranger. Her eyes were ice blue. "How dare you take away my freedom from me! I trust you with my life, Ranger, but right now I am looking at a stranger who without any consideration for my feelings, took matters into his own hands and put me into a position I never knew about or agreed to. "

Ranger sighed. He had hoped for a better result but was expecting the worst. He hoped that in time she would forgive him. He would have to start over and earn her trust once again. He suspected that this time it would be awhile, if ever again.

**Well, that went well...NOT!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks for all the reviews. **

Chapter 5

Ranger sat in Tank's office. He had his head in his hands and sat slumped in the guest chair.

Tank looked at his best friend. He had well and truly screwed up the best thing to have happened to him but at the same time he understood the reason. They had all had numerous bouts of heart failure involving Stephanie and one little part of him was glad that Ranger had ordered the insertion. At the same time, he recognized all that she had said to Ranger.

Lord knew, everyone wanted to disappear at one point in time. When he wanted to get away, Tank would leave his car and cell phone at his home and take a cab to a rental agency and rent a car for the day.

He would drive to an animal shelter out of town and volunteer looking after the abandoned and stray animals that wound up there. He would clean cages and take dogs for walks. He held kittens and older cats. He played with the bunnies and let the birds sit on his finger. He talked to them all in a soft, but deep voice. He would return home feeling calm and relaxed and ready to take on the crushing duties he accepted as Rangeman second in command.

He also had a couple of burn phones in his possession. The numbers were always blocked and he had used them on occasion.

Ranger stood up. He had a business to run. He strode out of the office and started to bark orders. Ranger, the commander was back.

Ella let herself into the apartment. She heard sniffles coming from the bedroom. Ella knocked on the door. The sounds quieted. "Are you in pain, dear?" There was silence, then a soft, "No."

Ella rustled around. She left a couple of trays on the kitchen counter and let herself out the door. She had no idea what the problem was but the serious expressions on the Core Team's faces concerned her.

Ella stopped in at Bobby's office. He was leaned over his desk writing up a report. Bobby was very meticulous in reporting but seemed to be putting a lot more emphasis on this particular one.

He stopped writing and acknowledged Ella with a nod of his head. She came into the room, closed the door and sat in the chair in front of his desk. Bobby's face took on a cautious expression. He was the easiest to get information out of and everyone knew it. Ella cut to the chase. "What did you or someone else do to our Stephanie?"

It was a broad based question, but one that could encompass a myriad of activities. Bobby played with his pen. He didn't want to look at Ella. He wondered how much he could relate without spilling the beans. He chose his words carefully.

"Ranger gave some information to the Bomber that made her question her trust in him, and to a point, us. It is something that they will have to work out between themselves. Until they do we may all be painted with a brush dipped in suspicion."

Ella looked at him. She felt that that was all the information she would be obtaining and it would be unfair to grill him anymore. Ella stood up and walked to the door. She opened the door and walked out without a word. Bobby heard her mutter softly as she walked down the hall. "Stupido Carlos. Muy stupido!"

~~~o0o~~~

Les, Bobby and Tank were in Tank's office. The door was closed and they were staring at a computer screen. They were trying to learn the complex program as soon as possible so that they could then interpret the information as needed. Bobby held the thick instruction manual while Tank played on the keyboard. His fingers danced a slow dance over the keys. Les was watching over Tank's shoulder with a suggestion now and then. There was a frustrated growl.

Tank growled again. "I told you this program is fucked. I pressed the prompt keys as you spelled them out, but I can't get to the next damn screen."

Les looked at the program. His fingers twitched but he remained standing by Tank. Bobby spoke again. "You know, there must be a large budget set aside for this project. Why the powers that be couldn't give us a power point demonstration or even a conference video is beyond me. But no, we have an instruction book!" He tossed it on the desk. Bobby was getting frustrated. He wasn't as computer savvy as the other two, but he could get around well enough. This was beyond belief.

Tank hit the cancel button. He picked up the phone and called a number. He waited then pressed a number, listened, then pressed another number again listening.

Finally he spoke. "This is contract H07923. We are having difficulty in connecting online." He waited. Then he spoke again. "We are trying to initialize the program according to your manual. I keep getting the same screen. It appears to be looping. I think there's a problem with the programming. Yes, it is up and functioning in the subject. Yes, we have forwarded in the appropriate paperwork. No, we are not online at the present time. Yes, please let us know when they will be here and we will make ourselves available."

The call ended. Tank looked at the other two. "They are sending out some programmers. I don't think they believe us."

Tank's and Ranger's rooms were not bugged nor was there a camera in either room. Here they could discuss matters in private.

Tank, Les and Bobby sat in the easy chairs in the room. It was time to set some guidelines and scenarios would need to be adopted if this field test was going to work. Unfortunately, their hands were tied for two years and unless they figured something out, it was going to be a very, very long two years.

Tank started. "We have to give her some down time or a scenario that Little Girl can live with. We all value our privacy and unless we can come up with some kind of a solution, she might just take off and have the damn thing removed before we can stop her. I wouldn't put it past her sticking it into who she hates right now, so Ranger better watch his back. She might stun him in his sleep and insert it herself with her own damn knife!"

Les and Bobby blanched then nodded. She was getting pretty good at defending herself after all the advanced training Rangeman had taught her. Hector had been very diligent at improving her knife skills.

~~~o0o~~~

Just last month she had been pissed off at Manny for abandoning her at the police station to face Joe. Joe had grabbed her by the arm to try to speak to her in private and she had put him on the tile floor with a quick self defense move and a little bit of a hip check to assist his fall. Joe had threatened to arrest her for assault but the faces of the officers laughing at his worthless attempt changed his mind. He had stomped off in frustration, slamming his office door closed behind him.

Manny had tried to explain that he was still covering her six, but the fact that he was holding hands with Robin Russell and was engaged in some serious conversation didn't support the claim.

Manny had returned to the office and found one of Stephanie's knives sticking into the wall of his cubicle with a note. There was a happy face with the words, 'Paybacks a bitch', underneath. Manny's face had paled. He was now treading carefully around Stephanie any time he saw her.

~~~o0o~~~

Shift change came and Tank headed for his truck. He had a date with Lula. They were currently in an on-stage and it was getting serious. No longer were they fearing the future together, but it remained to be seen whether they would make it official or not. Unbeknownst to Lula, Tank had changed all his declarations of beneficiary to Lula. He wanted her to be comfortable if something happened to him. Whether or not they ever made it official, he felt a special kinship with her that he had never experienced with anyone else.

Ranger contemplated his next move as he sat in his office. There were no available apartments on four in case he was not welcome back on seven. At the same time, they really needed to hash things out. What was done is done. He stood up and headed for the stairs. He wondered how she had fared after he left.

Ella had reported that she had not left the bedroom all day except to eat and shower. She had glared at him and mentioned that his new pillow was on the bed and she had vacuumed up all the feathers.

Ranger let himself into the apartment. The bedroom door was slightly ajar giving him some hope that at least he might see her before night. He noticed that there was no pillow and blanket on the couch warning him that he would be sleeping there tonight, or forever.

Ella had been in the kitchen and there were a number of covered dishes on the counter. Curiosity made him look under all of them. Two plates held the same main course but there was one more covered plate that contained a large piece of pineapple upside down cake and a dollop of whipped cream on the side with a little red cherry on top. Bless Ella. She needed a raise.

Ranger headed for the bathroom. He needed a shower and the only entrance was through the bedroom. Stephanie was sitting in the easy chair by the window working on a laptop. Her injured leg was propped on an ottoman. She was dressed in one of his t-shirts with a pink pair of shorts. His heart relaxed slightly. He hoped it was a kind of message that said that it would not be a very rocky time ahead for them both. That, or the fact that his t shirt was so large that it hung on her small frame and made it easier for her to change in and out of. He hoped it was not the latter reason.

Ranger walked up to her. He bent down and gave her a soft kiss on her forehead. Minor point for him when she didn't move out of range. Ranger spoke. "Hey Babe." Stephanie continued to work on the computer, typing furiously. "Ranger," came a monotone reply.

Ranger stood up. He was not out of the doghouse yet. He walked to the closet and chose a pair of light wash blue jeans and a charcoal gray short sleeved shirt. Stephanie had commented on a number of occasions that it was nice to see him in a color other than black now and then.

He walked into the bathroom and closed the door. The shower was turned on and then off a few minutes later. Ranger emerged from the room with his damp hair hanging down like she liked it. The late afternoon light accentuated the long, black, silky locks. He loved it when she ran her fingers through it.

Ranger looked at Stephanie. "I see Ella brought up supper early, Babe. Care to join me?"

Stephanie finished her paragraph then signed off. She carefully put the laptop on the table beside her, and prepared to stand. Her side stung with the twisting movement and she hissed softly. Ranger was instantly at her side with his hand on the elbow of her good side giving her some support. She stood up and walked out the door. Ranger followed and they headed for the kitchen.

Stephanie balanced herself against the tall breakfast nook stool and inched her way onto it. Ranger sat on the other side in his usual place and took the lids off the two plates. He passed one to her along with some cutlery. She looked at the pretty presentation and smiled in spite of herself. Everything had been placed strategically on the plate and looking closely she could see the outline of a set of lips with a smile in the vegetables. Ranger then removed the top of the third cover.

They both started to eat. Normally they would discuss the days' activities over supper and any upcoming details planned for that evening. They both had their heads down but each could feel the other taking small glances. Stephanie inhaled her dessert then put her fork down.

"We need to talk about this, Ranger."

Ranger nodded. He stacked the dishes in the dishwasher while Stephanie made her way to the living room and headed to the couch. Ranger let her find a comfortable place to sit, support her injured side and find a place to put her leg up to relieve the throbbing.

He was unsure if she wanted him on the couch or the chair across from him so waited for her decision. She moved the pillows further down the length of the couch and he took the initiative to sit down by her. Normally he would have put her on his lap, but felt that she would not have been happy then. If this talk was as serious as he was suspecting, it was better to have a bit of space between them.

Stephanie started to speak but Ranger held up his hand. He pulled out his phone, flipped it open and pressed a button. "I'm off-line until further notice. It better be life and death before you bother me and it could be your death if it is not." He flipped it closed and put the phone on the table. He turned to her.

Stephanie started. "Ranger, we have a problem."

**I will be posting the next chapter on Monday. Have a good weekend.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Wow. You continue to blow me away with your comments. Hopefully I have not missed anyone who reviewed and those who don't accept PM's back, thank you for taking the time. **

Chapter 6

Stephanie marshalled her thoughts. This was going to be a one-shot deal and then she hoped it would never need to re-open again.

Ranger sat quietly. Outwardly he remained calm. He was the master of calm after all. He was the calm in the midst of murder and mayhem and his calm demeanor had meant the difference between success and fiasco on more than one mission gone FUBAR. He waited for her to begin.

Stephanie played with the tassels on a pillow. Ranger watched her face. She was mentally playing what she wanted to say in her head.

"On one hand I hate what you did to put me in this position. You know how I hate to not have a say in a decision in something that affects me personally. Right now I'm feeling like a lab rat. I essentially have no life of my own. I trust you with my life, Ranger, but at the same time, my trust has been shaken."

She shifted and collected her thoughts once again. "You have been in charge of men for so long that you seem to have lost the ability to realize that we have feelings, and needs. I am not one of your men, Ranger. I deserve better."

She paused as if in deep though. "At the same time, I recognize the position you were in. Your reputation would have been damaged if you had been forced to cancel your participation in this experiment. I can see how important it is that this be available to try to keep important members of our society safe. I suspect that people in those important positions might not be in a position to say yay or nay to this little whatever it is either."

Stephanie shifted painfully. When she tensed up, she was putting pressure on her damaged rib. She tried to relax. She looked at Ranger for the first time.

"Here's what is going to happen. I will follow through on the experiment. Two years is not a long time. We are going to seriously need to discuss the parameters. I no longer need to carry any trackers on my person or in any car I drive. I will carry a panic button in case of dire emergency as I know that all the Merry Men carry one as part of their safety equipment."

She stopped. "But, and here's the part you might not like. I want time off. I can go into denial land and pretend that I am somewhere where I can think or do something and nobody will know where I am. I really need my space sometimes, Ranger. I know that the guys ditch their phones and cars to do the same thing and I demand the same courtesy."

Ranger cleared his throat. "I respect your need for privacy sometime, Babe. I know that you would ditch your trackers in the past so that you could get away from everything for awhile. At the same time, all you had to do was to contact myself or Tank and explain your need and we would have found a way to get around that. Instead, you took off and we would spend serious man hours looking for you. You cannot imagine the feeling of dread that swept this company any time you did this. We worry about you and would have appreciated a phone call."

He moved closer to her. She did not push him away and his heart soared a bit. He moved a bit closer to her and lifted her onto his lap. She tensed up a bit, more from the movement than anger, then relaxed. She leaned into him and he wrapped his arms around her. He put his chin on the top of her head and sighed. She didn't hate him for what he had done. She recognized the spot he was in. He was a lucky man to have found her. Many women would have immediately demanded its removal and the resulting embarrassment would have put any work they performed for the government in danger. He still had men on contract and taking away the option for additional income would have bothered him, a lot.

Stephanie spoke again. "I want only Bobby and Tank to have the codes to find me or deal with whoever is in charge of this project. Bobby since he is the medic and Tank because he understands how I feel without spelling it out. You are my husband and if we are together they can find both of us. Les I just cannot. He would wait for me to go shopping then bring it up to see which dressing room I am in and for how long."

Ranger nodded his head. All in all, it was a reasonable request. He no longer felt that he had to sleep with one eye open waiting to see if she would stun him and then torture him in some insane manner, not that some things she could do wouldn't be torture to any straight man, mind you.

They sat on the couch holding each other. Stephanie's head nodded and she curled up in Ranger's arms. He held her as she drifted off. He felt himself relax also and caught himself drifting off too. Rather than struggle to wake up Stephanie and risk her jarring her ribs any more than necessary, he reached over and grabbed the throw laying on the back of the couch. He tenderly wrapped it around her and smiled as she murmured in her sleep. He laid his head back and let his mind relax. He and his Babe were going to be OK.

~~~o0o~~~

There was a meeting of the Core Team before the morning meeting. It was held in Ranger's office and each man carefully checked Ranger's face for information as they filed in. Ranger sat at his desk and waited for them to find a place to sit. As per usual, Tank claimed the big leather easy chair in front of the desk, and Bobby and Lester flopped on the couch. Ranger growled as Les put his feet up on the coffee table and he looked guilty as he put them down again. "One of these days, I'm going to get Tia Maria to teach you some house manners, Santos! Keep your damn boots off my coffee table."

Les grinned. Ranger was feeling good this morning. If he had had a bad night with Beautiful last night which might have included sleeping on the couch, he would have thrown the signed baseball at him. He was an excellent player during his youth and was rumored to be heading for a professional contract as a pitcher until he had run afoul of the law. He could easily and had nailed Les between the eyes on more than one occasion.

Tank noticed the relaxed attitude. He sighed in relief. He had been a bit worried; actually he had been a lot worried. Obviously he and Little Girl had worked things out. He wondered what deal they had worked out. Stephanie was getting a bit too good at this negotiating thing. It looked like Ranger was still in possession of all his fingers and toes and his ego appeared undamaged to the naked eye.

Bobby watched the whole room dynamics with a medical eye. Everyone was feeling loose and eager for the day to begin. He held a file folder with a number of sheets of paper in his hand.

Ranger cleared his throat. They only had a few minutes before the morning meeting and time was a wasting. He cut to the chase.

"Stephanie has agreed to the experiment for the whole two year time period. She recognized the financial and legal implications and repercussions that would follow if she demanded its removal. To say that she was not pleased at the decisions made on her behalf without her knowledge is putting it mildly but she and I will be dealing with that in our own way."

He looked at the men. "Have you finished the tutorial and are ready to let it fly?

Tank spoke up. "We finished reading it and feel confident that between us all we can interpret all that we need to. Les is confident that he can bring up the data as needed. Once the programmers come and fix the program we can then attempt to practice on it and use it. Stephanie will be laid up for awhile so the need to keep track of her right now is less urgent. It looks like the assessment team will be here every three months for the experimental time. They will then visit the final time with extraction at that time. "

Les spoke up. "The program should be running and extracting data as per the manual information. Once they fix the program we can access it at any time or leave it to tabulate data on the hard drive. As per the instructions, we will be required to check in every day for the first two weeks for any upgrades on protocol, or checking for omissions or snags. The assessment team will be contacting us as per the posted schedule and Beautiful will be in attendance at each meeting. It is her body that they are using and she has a say in the study."

Bobby looked at the forms in the folder. "All medical notes are completed and forwarded to the site. She is healing at the insertion site very well and the stitches will be removed next week. There was no infection noted at the site. I am not sure why they placed it there. I would have thought it would have been in her neck area but if there are a number of women participating it stands to reason that nobody would like a scar on their neck even if it would have been at their hairline."

Ranger cleared his throat. Here was going to be the tough part. He knew that Les would be hurt by the remark, but that's what negotiation was all about.

Stephanie knew so little about Lester other than his playboy attitude. Few people knew that Les had been a serious hacker in his youth. Everyone believed that he had gotten into trouble with the law because of mischievous pranks and juvenile mayhem, but Ranger, Tank and Bobby were privy to the fact that Les was responsible for a number of playful pranks hacking into very secure military, monetary, and legal databases. He had been finally caught after some serious surveillance by some of the best computer specialists in the country and threatened with jail time. The fact he was underage at the time had probably contributed to the lack of imprisonment, but the requirement that he immediately cease all computer activity was bundled with the charge that he sign up and serve with a branch of the armed forces for a period of not less than least five years. Les had been officially inactive for eleven years but Ranger suspected his unique skills were not as rusty as he was led to believe.

He spoke. "One of Stephanie's rules was that only Bobby and Tank have access to the file. She felt that if I had it, I would be even more over protective than I am right now and sorry to say Les, but she was worried that you would watch which dressing room she was trying on clothes and for how long."

Ranger had the grace to blush a bit at that. He looked at Les. Les had a hurt look on his face but he was covering it up well. He shrugged. He would allow his secret to stay secret, but everyone in the room knew that if it was required he would be able to access the file quickly and efficiently and probably nobody would even know.

It was time to head for the general staff morning meeting. They all headed for the door. Today was shaping up to be a good day. Their Bomber was getting better. The monthly numbers were in and Rangeman was continuing to improve each reporting period. Detroit was functioning well. Miami, Atlanta and Boston were steady. Nobody was on medical leave except for Stephanie.

Rangeman was looking at upgrading some of the fleet. Ranger thought Frank Plum would be pleased. He had placed an order for six new Buick Enclaves. He was about to find out if the Plum family knew what they were talking into. If they lasted as long or longer than the current fleet vehicles, he would contemplate more. Unfortunately for Frank, Ranger still liked his Porsches and nobody was going to change his mind on that.


	7. Chapter 7

**Once again thanks for all the reviews. **

Chapter 7

Stephanie made her way carefully out of the elevator. There was a shift change going on and the men were still milling around. Manny was the first one to see her and shouted, "Bombers here!" The men looked around and spied her. They looked like they were going to rush her en mass but Tank stopped them with a bellow.

"Little Girl, you are not even cleared for light duty, let alone being on the floor. You have only been out of the hospital for a less than a week." Tank quickly stepped over to her and prevented the men from engulfing her in hugs and kisses. Unfortunately she was not even steady enough on her feet yet to take any kind of handling, unless it was a gentle cuddle from her husband.

Stephanie frowned. "I had to get out of the apartment, Tank. The walls were closing in on me. Please, I will be good, but can I stay down here for awhile? I promise not to get in anybody's way. I can do some searches or man a monitor for a bit and give the guys a break. Please?" Her voice took on a pleading tone.

Tank could see the desperation in her eyes. She did not do well with inactivity and three weeks was going to weigh very heavily on her. He growled, then assisted her to her cubicle. He motioned for some files from Maurice and placed them on the desk. "You are on the clock, little one. One hour and then I kick your sweet little ass back upstairs if I have to carry you myself!" With that, he stomped off to his office. Stephanie saw him set his watch with a grimace.

She pulled the first file close to her and set to work. When Tank said one hour, he meant it. She was just finishing up her third file when a very large, dark shadow came into view. Stephanie hit print just a few moments before Tank reached around her and closed down the search file. He stepped back and stood with his arms crossed. His watch continued to beep. She sighed and cleaned up her desk. She stood up and with a pile of folders in her hands, walked to Maurice's desk. She handed them to him and nodded at the printer. He smiled and jerked his thumb toward the elevator.

Stephanie walked to the elevator with Tank following her. Jeez, she was going after all. Where could she hide? The elevator was already open and waiting for her. She contemplated stopping on six and seeing if Ella was there. The door closed and unbidden the button for seven lit up. She guessed she was going back to the apartment!

Stephanie walked into the living room. Ella had visited and had left a snack on the kitchen counter. It was a selection of fruits and vegetables with a yogurt dip. Stephanie's tummy growled and she looked down at it in disgust. What a traitor it was some days. She sat down and munched away. Having eaten all she wanted she wandered into the bedroom with the idea of a short nap. She pulled back the covers and sank down gratefully on the edge of the bed. Unfortunately she became fuzzy after that and did not remember sliding the rest of the way into bed or covering herself up.

Stephanie woke up slowly. She was laying on a strong shoulder and felt nice and toasty warm. In spite of herself she groaned. Instantly her Cuban sex-god furnace tensed and spoke. "What hurts, Babe? Do I need to call Bobby?" His cell phone was in his hand with his thumb ready to press the button.

Stephanie shook her head. She snuggled deeper into his chest and sighed. "How long did I sleep?"

Ranger chuckled. "I came in just after you came upstairs, Babe. I saw you had a snack and came to find you. You were laying half in bed with your legs still over the side. I finished getting you into bed and saw you looking so cute, so I climbed in with you. You snuggled into me and that's how we have been for the past two hours. I think you overdid the excursion downstairs earlier."

Stephanie groaned. If Tank found out, he would never let her back onto the floor until she was completely cleared by the doctor. "Please don't tell Tank, Ranger. I was going crazy up here and got a few searches done. "

Ranger circled his arms around her. He kissed her lightly on the nose. "That will be up for negotiation, Babe. I might be convinced not to rat you out." Stephanie sighed and relaxed. She would work on this negotiation thing later.

Ranger moved slightly as he dislodged Stephanie. He climbed out of bed and put on his boots and t-shirt. He looked at her. She was getting stronger by the day and wanting to stay awake more. He suspected that she would be sneaking downstairs more and more. He would have to talk to Tank about that.

Ranger helped her out of bed and moved out of the way as she made her way to the bathroom. After doing her business, she joined him in the kitchen. There were more covered plates on the counter. Curiosity made her lift the covers. Ella had done her magic once again and the aromas coming from under the covers smelled delicious. There were the obligatory vegetables and grilled meats, but they were tastefully prepared. Once again, there was a covered dish and upon lifting the cover, there was a chocolate brownie with sauce dribbled over it. Stephanie's mouth watered at the sight.

Ranger firmly pushed the plate to the other end of the counter with one hand and taking the cover away from her put it over the delectable piece of heaven. He had a strict rule about no dessert before eating the main meal. They sat down and began eating. Ranger told her what had happened during the past few days and the new accounts that were almost ready for installation. Hector and Cesar would be busy. Business was certainly picking up.

~~~o0o~~~

Ranger and Tank had discussed hiring more employees or moving up some of the contract workers. Stephanie knew a few of the contract workers and most had been very polite to her. A couple she had had a bad feeling about and had talked to Ranger about them some time ago. He had taken her concerns to heart and had started to observe them more closely.

Two of them had been eventually let go. Stephanie's spidey sense had picked up something and when they had an even deeper check made had found out some discrepancies from otherwise reliable sources. They had been unceremoniously let go with the unfortunate side effect of an ugly scene or two. In one instance, Terry Gandolf had made some threatening remarks and gestures and it had snowballed to Tank stepping away from the door and physically manhandling Terry out the door and out of Rangeman. He had not even been allowed to voluntarily hand over his keys or weapons but had been physically relieved of them. Lenny Mappins had just shrugged his shoulders when relieved of his duties and job and had left quietly.

~~~o0o~~~

Time marched slowly for Stephanie and a number of times Tank had demanded that she leave the floor and head upstairs for a rest. Twice he had threatened that Bobby was on his way with a hypo unless she move but only once had she resorted to heading to Ranger's office for support.

Unfortunately for Stephanie, he was letting Tank take the lead on this one and she found herself being escorted up to seven by both Tank and Bobby. Feeling rather childish she had stuck her tongue out at them both as the elevator door opened on seven and Ella was waiting at the apartment door.

Tank had obviously decided that enough was enough and the next morning when she called for the elevator, it did not respond. She pressed the call button again with the same result. She stomped back into the apartment and heard the house phone ringing. Picking it up, she heard Tank's deep voice saying that her punishment for yesterday was enforced restriction to the apartment for 24 hours and if she wanted to go against his orders again, it would be doubled each time. Stephanie was too weak to take the stairs and slumped down on the couch in frustration. Not even Ella's wonderful food and tasty desserts could temper her evil mood that day.

Ranger wisely stayed downstairs until supper time. He peeked around the corner as he walked in the door. Stephanie was curled up on the couch watching another movie. Her eyes had that caged wild animal look and she was spoiling for a fight. Ranger picked her up and put her on his lap. He stroked her back and whispered in her ear. Eventually she calmed down and sighed. One week more and she hopefully would be released for light duty. Everybody was counting the days.

Ranger escorted her to the doctor. Dr. Evans checked her leg and her ribs. He had the lab draw some blood for anemia. He proceeded to give her her new restrictions for the next week. She was to start her physical fitness regime slowly and build herself up. No long distance running, and no hand to hand combat yet. Bobby had already had a sheet of information faxed to him by the office but the doctor was only confirming what he had ordered. Stephanie promised to abide by the relaxed rules and practically danced out the door. She looked at Ranger like he was lunch. Ranger grinned. He suspected that he was going to be off-line all evening. Stephanie had not been the only one counting the days.

They arrived back at Rangeman. Swiftly the elevator took them to seven. Tacked on the door was Stephanie's new work schedule. She too was off line until tomorrow. At the bottom of the page was a large happy face. Stephanie wondered who the happy face might be; herself, Ranger, Tank, Ella, or Bobby?


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: Janet owns all the recognizable characters.**

Chapter 8

Stephanie walked out of the elevator. She was assigned to her cubicle until 1000 hours, then a two hour stint on monitors, lunch, then two hours in the gym and on the gun range. Stephanie settled at her cubicle. She had a tray full of searches to be processed and got right to work.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw the elevator door open and two strangers emerge. They were carrying briefcases and had the look of computer geek all over them. Tank escorted them to his office. Bobby walked out of the stairway and also headed for Tank's office. Les looked over and his blank face emerged. He grabbed some files and headed down the hall.

Tank buzzed Stephanie's extension. "Stephanie, can you come to my office?" Stephanie agreed then pushed her chair back. She walked to the closed door, knocked and waited for permission to enter. The door opened and she walked in. The door closed once again.

Stephanie stood by the door. She observed the two strangers with their computers open on Tank's desk and were looking at the screens intently. Tank stood up and came around the desk to her side. He took her by the elbow gently and steered her toward the two men. They looked up, then closed the tops on their lap tops. Tank smiled at Stephanie then spoke. "Stephanie Manoso, let me introduce you to Tyler Brown and Patrick Bishop. They will be our contacts for the surveillance project. As you know, they will be showing up periodically to review our files and also to talk to you. If you have any questions, now might be a good time to ask them."

Stephanie looked at the two men. They had the sallow look of men who spent too much time inside a building and not enough time outdoors. Their eyes were penetrating though, and seemed to take in details for analysis later. She cleared her throat.

"How close can you detect where I am at any time? One half a block, fifty feet, three feet, ten inches?"The taller of the men appeared to be the leader. He looked at her as he answered. Points for him. Tyler spoke. "Our satellites can track you to within about ten feet, but we are making strides to tighten that to five feet."

Stephanie spoke again. "Has anybody had a medical issue so far with this whatever it is?"

This time Patrick spoke. "Unfortunately we have already had one fatality, but not from any problem with the unit. One of our subjects suffered a medical emergency and passed away. On the plus side, we knew exactly where he was at the time and had a medical emergency team on site quickly. Unfortunately he passed away on the way to the medical facility."

Stephanie gulped. She pondered her next question. "Is this only a tracking device or does it also give off information like, for example, heart rate or activity levels?" The men looked at each other. Almost every male had asked that question. Tyler answered this. "We have not addressed this with this unit. This does not mean that in the future it cannot be added electronically. If that ever became a possibility, by law you would be advised accordingly and could elect or not elect to have that monitored."

Stephanie had one more question. "If at the end of this experiment I agreed to continue to carry it, what would be my options?" This was a new one that nobody had even asked yet. The men had assumed that that question would come up closer to the end of the trial, and had not discussed it with their team. "We have not addressed that as yet and would prefer not to answer that. Let's get a bit closer to the end of the trial before we address this, shall we?"

Stephanie looked at both Bobby and Tank. They appeared not to have any questions while she was in attendance so she attempted to raise an eyebrow at them. Tank chuckled and spoke. "I think you can head back to work, Stephanie. There is nothing secretive what we need to talk about with these guys, but will set up a schedule when they are planning on coming back. They just have to download a new patch for our system. Thank you for stepping in."

Stephanie nodded and let herself out the door. So far, nothing had happened as she had only been out of Rangeman to go to the doctor or her family's home for suppers or short excursions with Ranger so the information would probably look pretty boring. She was hoping to get out by herself soon. She had some shopping to do and friends to see.

Stephanie went back to her desk. She could see Les hanging around but trying not to be noticed. Strange. Ever since she had made that condition, he had been distant with her, not something she had considered. She considered him a friend, actually a really good friend and his almost distant and cool attitude to her bothered her. She vowed that she would corner him and talk it out. Unfortunately, trying to corner a Merry Man usually proved difficult as they had the escape and evade tactics down to a science. She would have to be sneaky in her attack.

Stephanie plowed through the files in her box. Her watch beeped. It was time to man the monitors. As luck would have it, Les was her partner. They took their places and settled in for a hopefully boring shift. Watching monitors for hours was the second worst thing in Stephanie's job description at Rangeman. Her least favorite was surveillance. She had trouble sitting still and usually had to resort to eating food to quell her restlessness.

~~~o0o~~~

Unfortunately, one could usually tell how restless she had been on surveillance by the number of wrappers and bags of junk that accumulated. Tank had been waiting in the garage as she and Junior had pulled in one day after a particularly boring shift watching a house. Before she could clean up the evidence, he had caught her with the mess. She had immediately been put on his shit list and wound up having to clean and detail every Rangeman vehicle. Stephanie learned how many vehicles there were in the Rangeman vehicle fleet after that episode.

She hadn't grumbled about the city fleet but had no knowledge of the compound fleet of vehicles at the outdoor training facility. They were mud encrusted from the recent rains. The men had just participated in a live fire and obstacle course exercise and the transport vehicles came back in deplorable shape. Stephanie had wondered to herself as she fought with the caked on mud if Tank had planned this.

She dismissed it from her mind as a coincidence until a chance conversation in the break room had revealed a remark from Tiny that they hadn't had an exercise like that in quite some time. He had wondered why they had returned from the exercise through a particular mud bog. Was it to test the four wheel capabilities on the trucks when fully loaded? It took Stephanie three days to completely clean all the compound fleet.

When she finally made it back to her cubicle there was a paper bag in her in-box. It contained a number of suduko, crossword and word search booklets. Nothing was ever said but she had taken the hint.

~~~o0o~~~

Stephanie looked at her monitors. Les was at his. Usually there was some kind of quiet conversation as their eyes darted from screen to screen. Today it was silent. Stephanie stole a look at Les. He was not his usual playboy self, taking in the changing screens intently. She shifted in her seat. She cleared her throat.

"Are you mad at me for taking you off the project, Les?"

Lester looked at her. His face was calm. "No Beautiful. I know that it was such a shock and it is totally your call about this. Bobby and Tank will not abuse the information that is being tabulated."

Stephanie chewed her bottom lip nervously. He was bugged about something. He hadn't made any jokes that would have lightened the mood. She peeked at him again. Les was the picture of calm, like most of the man at Rangeman, but she had learned over the years to look for little signs of stress, anger or anxiety. In Les's case, he would tap his right foot as if calling the time on a musical selection.

An alarm sounded. Both Stephanie and Lester jumped into action. One would bring up the screen and one would find the closest unit to respond. Lester had already pressed record what the cameras were picking up onto a secondary file and Stephanie dispatched Hal and Binkie to the scene. It was a back door alarm trip on the McAllisters' home. They were in Europe at the present time and nobody was scheduled to be in the home. They waited for a report anxiously. Home invasions had become increasingly more dangerous for the patrols. It seemed that the would-be burglars now reacted badly when faced with jail time if caught and made every effort to evade capture.

Binkie phoned in. They were on their way to the police station with two punks in the back. They had tried to flee when the truck had pulled up but Hal had caught one heading out the back door with Binkie tracking down the one running down the driveway. Unfortunately they were underage kids and would be home before the men were off shift. Mommy and/or Daddy would have picked them up and professed their innocence to the juvenile department and they would be released with a promise to appear later.

Les and Stephanie were relieved of monitor duty and headed for the break room. Stephanie followed Les down the line picking out a sandwich, some fruit, yogurt and a bottle of water. He looked like he was heading back to his cubicle, but Stephanie wanted to talk. "Do you have time to have lunch with me, Les?" He nodded and headed for a table. She put her tray down and sat down. Les made a big production of getting his food opened. He didn't make any small talk.

Stephanie played with her sandwich. She poked it with a tentative finger and peeked inside the whole wheat slices of bread. She looked up at the ceiling and sighed. In spite if his caution, Les couldn't help but laugh. "What did you want in there, Beautiful? Cheese, bologna, salami, mayo?" He chuckled at the expression she shot at him. She sighed again. She could live with the fat free or organic sliced turkey, but bean sprouts?

She took a bite and grimaced. If she had time, she would have tried to sneak out for something real to eat. Burg residents did not live on bean sprouts. They lived for meatball subs, pizza and lasagna.

She took a spoonful of yogurt then took a big drink of water. She played with her fruit plate. Finally she put everything down and looked at Les. Her face was sad. He noticed the look and put down his lunch. Stephanie's face was so expressive that most of the men had no problem reading her expressions.

Stephanie cleared her throat. "Can we become friends again? I really miss the old Lester. He used to tell me jokes to brighten my day and we could play innocent pranks on each other. I think he moved away and his quiet distant twin took his place."

Les looked at her. His face softened and he reached over and swiped her fruit plate from under her nose. He pretended to guard the plate all the while grinning evilly. Stephanie laughed and attempted to take it back. He picked it up and raced to his cubicle leaving her to clean up the table and dispose of the garbage. He heard an exasperated 'Santos' and knew they would be OK.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Stephanie climbed into her car. She had her purse beside her and revelled in how light it felt. She no longer carried her guns in her purse. The one on her hip was her primary weapon, but she also carried a pistol in the small of her back. She was also wearing a knife in a sheath on her left ankle but it did not interfere with driving. She felt a small sense of relief that her personal vehicle was no longer supposed to be fitted with trackers although she couldn't be sure they had all been removed. These men she worked with were very protective and probably did not trust the fact that the only tracker was herself.

She pulled up to the bond office. Connie and Lula spied her getting out of her car complete with a box of donuts. She had not even walked in the door before it opened and the box was grabbed by one and she was grabbed by the other. They guided her into the office and dug into the box. Vinnie's door was closed. Stephanie glanced at the door and Connie nodded. The door would open eventually and Vinnie would probably beak about her not pulling her weight.

They sat and devoured the donuts. Connie told her about her latest date. Daddy had set it up and Connie shuddered in spite of herself. Tony Roma was from the Family and had been divorced twice. He was close to 300 pounds and had a heart condition. Tony was ready to steal her away and Connie was contemplating going into hiding until he lost interest.

Lula related her skip stories to Stephanie. Mooner was an easy catch and Lula had learned to keep a couple bags of cheese balls in the car. Unfortunately she was starting to enjoy some of the latest tv marathons that Dougie and Mooner were into and was wasting a lot of time there instead of getting the FTA's returned in a timely manner.

The door opened with a bang and Vinnie came out. Also true to nature, he didn't ask how she was or when she would be back at work. Instead, he said. "I'm going to go broke if I have to have Joyce or Lula do your job. At least I'm getting some money from what Rangeman brings in." His eyes widened. Ranger and Tank had walked in and were standing in the doorway, assessing the scene in front of them with their arms crossed over their muscular chests. He gulped and quickly added. "And I appreciate all the help Rangeman provides." He turned on his heel and raced back into his office, slamming the door closed behind him. They all heard the lock turn.

Ranger came up to Stephanie. He swept his hand under her hair and swept it back giving her a kiss behind her ear. Stephanie leaned into him. He whispered 'Babe' in her ear.

Tank was reaching for the folders that Connie had in her hand. It looked like a significant number today. Business was good. Tank handed Connie four bond receipts and she sat down to write the cheque. Tank waited patiently. He looked at Lula. They had had a date last evening and neither of them looked like they had had a lot of sleep. Tank gave Lula a small smile and Lula nodded in agreement. It was all meant to be innocent, but everyone could see they were close and getting closer. Unfortunately they both had had some bad dating experiences and were still leery of any commitments.

Ranger looked at Stephanie. "What are your plans today, Babe?" He suspected that a visit with her parents was next on the list. She had not ventured from the building alone since her accident. Ranger waited for confirmation.

Stephanie spoke. "I have a lunch date with Mary Lou. All her boys are on a field trip today and she is free so we are heading to the mall for lunch and some shopping. I figured I would stop in at home later. I am not planning on supper there tonight. I will probably book supper for later this week, if that is OK with you."

Ranger nodded. "I'm free every night except tomorrow. We have a take-down planned." Stephanie hummed happily. Her family may seem a bit eccentric but they were still her family and she loved them dearly. She was pleased that Ranger had embraced the family get-togethers with his calm demeanor. Edna had promised to leave Ranger alone since he belonged to Stephanie, but any other member of Rangeman was still in danger. Frank and Ranger had taken to heading for the garage for a beer and a cigar. They would discuss weighty matters like the upcoming baseball all-star game or the trades before football season started.

Stephanie prepared to leave. She had to pick up Mary Lou and the shopping mall was calling. Tank and Ranger escorted her out the door. Stephanie stopped suddenly. She looked around but could not find anything amiss. Ranger looked at her. He very much heeded her spidey sense and it had suddenly gone off. Both he and Tank looked around with their hands on their guns and Ranger moved closer to Stephanie. She shook her head. The feeling was gone. She looked at Ranger and grinned. "Maybe it is confused. I haven't had a stalker in so long it thought I needed a wake-up call." They both knew that her radar was never rusty. Ranger wanted to tell her to go back to the building but knew that she had been looking forward to her time out so decided to let it rest. He thought about putting a couple of guys on her but dismissed the thought. He was a bit short today. She was shopping, for pete's sake and anybody who had ever guarded Stephanie while shopping had always demanded combat pay.

"Call me if you need me, Babe. And remember, I get a private fashion show when you return." He grinned his 200 watt smile at her. Stephanie swatted Ranger on the arm, gave him a kiss and climbed into her car. They both knew that he would have had one regardless. One of her purchases that still ranked as number one was the red and black corset with black fishnet garter stockings and high topped boots. That had been an evening to remember.

Mary Lou was standing on the sidewalk as Stephanie pulled up. She climbed in and they headed for the mall. As neither of them were hungry, they passed the food court in favor of the hunt. Hours later, they came up for air. They had made a number of trips to the car with their bags and had returned to shop again. They were eating in the food court with bags piled around them. Their feet hurt but their spirits were high. It had been a very successful day.

They walked to the car and proceeded to stow the last of the bags into the trunk. Stephanie closed the trunk and unlocked the doors. She bent over to tie up a shoelace that had come undone when a bullet whizzed past her ear. Without thinking she shoulder rolled away from the car and came up against an adjacent vehicle using it for protection with her gun in her hand. She yelled at Mary Lou to take cover.

Stephanie opened her pocketbook, found the panic button and pushed it. The flashing light indicated that it had been activated. Nobody moved. Barely two minutes later two black SUV's came racing into the parking lot. Men jumped out of the trucks, guns in hand. Les had taken charge of the scene and was barking orders to the men. Quickly they surrounded the girls and hustled them into an SUV which sped out of the lot. The rest spread out looking for something out of the ordinary. Tank pulled up in his Hummer. People milled around. They fanned out and checked for shell casings or suspicious movements.

One elderly lady stopped Brett and mentioned that she thought she heard a gun fire from behind her. Since one of her hearing aids was acting up she couldn't totally place the origin but thought it had happened behind her and to the left. Brett thanked her and headed where she thought she had heard the noise. He found a single casing on the ground behind a tree and called over Tank. They put on gloves and carefully placed it into a small evidence bag.

There were a number of black and whites in the parking lot now. Carl and Big Dog were standing talking to Tank. They looked around. Neither Stephanie nor Mary Lou were in the parking lot. Tank explained that they had rushed them out of harms' way but were both at Rangeman in case they needed to be interviewed. They nodded. Looking around it appeared that the scene was returning to normal. Al had sent over a tow truck to take the vehicle to his shop for repair. There was a big hole in the driver's door and it appeared that the bullet was imbedded in the leather driver's seat. Al was cognizant of the procedure and would wait for the major crimes team to come to the shop and retrieve the bullet. He had had many brushes with the law before and certainly knew the procedure. Trenton Police did not have a garage with lab facilities to process a car and they had used his garage on a number of occasions.

Ranger met Stephanie and Mary Lou in the garage. He had raced down the stairs to jump into the Turbo when the call came in that the girls were on the way to Rangeman. He opened the back door, pulled out Stephanie and hugged her to his chest. He needed to hear her voice and feel her against him. He was beating himself over the incident at the bond office. He should have forbade her from her trip to the mall and escorted her back to the safety of Rangeman. Stephanie tensed and pushed against him getting free.

She looked at him. Her eyes were dark blue, the color of an incoming storm. "Don't you dare blame yourself and think I needed to come back. I need my freedom, Ranger. I have to live my life the best way I can. Nothing happened. Al can fix the hole and everything is fine. My panic button alerted you to a situation; you knew where I was, and nobody got hurt."

She turned on her heel and led Mary Lou to the elevator and fobbed it to seven. They would wait until it was safe and then take her home. Stephanie had a small smile of satisfaction. Her vehicle had not blown up so therefore nobody would be going home richer tonight from the police station.

Ella brought up some desserts and Stephanie made coffee in the kitchen. She and Mary Lou had survived many encounters over the course of their friendship and it was just one more to add to the list. The phone rang and Manny was on the line. All the packages had been picked up from the car, delivered to Rangeman and would be brought up to seven shortly. They wondered if the men had had time to check their contents. In most of the bags were ladies clothes and shoes, children's clothes and work clothes for Lenny, but a couple of bags held some interesting items that should be eyes only for Lenny and Ranger. They were wrapped in tissue paper in the bag and the girls would know if they had been fingered.

There was a knock at the door. Stephanie strode to the door and upon opening it watched as three men came in carrying the bags in each hand. They carefully set them down in the hallway and backed out.

Mary Lou looked at Stephanie and they both burst into laughter. The men had divided and taken all the bags of children, ladies and menswear in one hand and each had a single bag from Victoria's Secret clasped between their thumb and forefinger in the other hand.

Lenny came and picked up Mary Lou. He gave her a hug and a tender kiss. He needed some alone time with his wife before the boys came home from school.

Stephanie wandered down to five. The meeting in Conference Room C was still going on as she slipped in the door and took an open chair. Hal had just reported on the lack of video from the parking lot. Brett described where he found the shell casing and how he and Tank had picked it up and delivered it to the lab without disturbing any prints. Stephanie realized that the meeting was winding down. She had not heard Lester's report but would track him down later. She watched Lester. He was so serious at times. She wondered how he had become so disciplined to reporting information. He gave his reports differently than the other trained military men and there was some other element that came across as almost systematic. Hmm, something to think about.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Supper was delivered to seven and Stephanie along with Ranger were sitting at the breakfast nook. She toyed with her food while all the time watching from hooded eyes Ranger's movements. Outwardly he was his usual calm self, but the muscles near his jaw were tightly clenched even when eating.

Stephanie put down her fork. She reached over and put her hand on top of Ranger's and forced him to stop eating. She stood up and walked around the nook to wedge herself between his legs with her back to the counter. She put her hands on either side of his face caressing it with her thumbs and peered into his eyes.

She spoke softly. "Ranger, Carlos. I am fine. You are not allowed to blame yourself for this afternoon. I should have heeded my spidey sense. My body knew there was something there. I feel badly that I put Mary Lou in danger but our safety procedures are in place. I think I handled it by using the panic button. The men got us out of there, although Big Dog was pretty pissed that we didn't stay on scene. I notice that you didn't tell him about the shell casing."

Her eyes changed to a brilliant blue. She wormed herself in further. She kissed him gently on the lips. Her hands moved slowly down his chest and while still keeping eye contact, slowly pulled his shirt out of the cargos. She slid her hands under the shirt and slowly walked her fingers up his muscular chest like an eensy weensy spider on a secret mission. His chest muscles twitched at the light touch. His lips curled up and his eyes darkened. Never taking their eyes off each other, Ranger stood up, scooped her up and headed for the bedroom. Supper was forgotten.

As they lay in the bed with their bodies tangled in the sheet and their breath struggling to return to normal, Ranger played with a curl and Stephanie once again was making designs on Ranger's chest with her finger. She watched fascinated as she gently used one fingertip and ran it over a chest muscle. It twitched. She moved to another and it also responded. Finally Ranger took her finger and put it to his lips. He kissed it then holding it, placed her hand down on his chest with his hand over top.

"Babe", he started. Stephanie shifted slightly so she could see his face. "That round was military. That means that someone is trying to get to me through you, or someone wants you eliminated. I faxed Ram a picture of that casing. He said that usually only snipers use that kind of round."

Stephanie shuddered in spite of herself. This appeared not to be her personal garden variety of stalker after her. She tried to appear nonchalant as she thought of a response. Before she could formulate a sentence out loud, Ranger spoke again.

"I am asking you to not leave the building without back-up until we can neutralize this threat, Babe. We have our feelers out for information. I would really feel much better if you just stayed in the building. We could then devote all our resources to finding out and getting this person out of the way."

He put his finger on her lips. She had already tensed up and wanted to speak. Ranger continued. "The Leadership Team already advised me you would balk at that suggestion. Only the Core Team knows about the implant so they are still under the impression that if you ditch your trackers you will be unable to track. We do not plan to release this information as it is under a need to know order anyway. Therefore, they will always make suggestions based on some knowledge they are missing." He looked at her. "I would like you to put a tracker back in your purse. If something happens and nobody with access to bring up the information where you are, then the tracker may come in handy."

Stephanie listened. She was trying to give Ranger some leeway on how he felt she needed to be protected. Before they had decided to marry, they had discussed this at length. Ranger felt that his life did not lend itself to endangering someone else and Stephanie had countered with she had enough stalkers through her career as a bounty hunter that it was one and the same anyway. Ranger had responded that his stalkers usually took no prisoners, and Stephanie had countered again that unfortunately dead was dead whether by a bullet, or a rabbit.

Ranger had then switched tactics and strongly requested that she accept the offer of more advanced training so as to protect herself and she countered with she would accept the offer if she could choose her training partners. He had countered that he could train her as he was the best whereas she had responded that she did not really want to hurt the person she loved with all her heart and would prefer to take on someone who was more of a big brother to her.

Ranger marvelled at her new negotiation techniques. They had become quite strong in the past few months. No longer could he just order her to do something. In the past, she would have completely ignored any and mostly all orders and done her own thing anyway, which usually caused problems for he and his staff. Now, after a number of rounds of negotiations which culminated by some really great negotiation sex, they had usually come to an agreement.

The phone rang by their bedside. Ranger reached over and picked up the phone. "Yo."

Tank was on the other end of the line. It must be important as he was supposedly off shift. Ranger listened and hung up the phone after saying 'down in five'. He kissed Stephanie on the lips, slid out of bed, and quickly dressed. He went to his safe and came out of the closet carrying his vest and a couple more weapons. He stopped by the bed on his way out the door.

"We have a situation. Don't wait up for me, Babe." With that he strode out the door where the elevator was already open waiting for him. He pressed a button and the door closed.

Stephanie snuggled into the bed. She hugged Ranger's pillow to her chest hoping that all would go well. She thought fleetingly that she should probably get dressed and head to five if she was curious about what was going on, but her mind relaxed and she felt herself drifting asleep.

Stephanie felt the bed dip and her personal furnace crawled in beside her. She shifted over and snuggled into his chest, laying her head on his shoulder. Half asleep but trying to concentrate, she asked, "Everything OK?" Ranger kissed her on the forehead and whispered, "Everything has been taken care of Babe. Go back to sleep. We'll talk about it in the morning."

Stephanie woke up draped over Ranger. Her hip was nudging not so little ranger and one leg lay nestled between his legs. She opened her eyes and sighed happily. Ranger was laying awake watching her. He had mentioned a number of times how when he opened his eyes the first thing he wanted to see each morning was her sleeping. He told her he loved to start and end each day watching his Babe.

Stephanie attempted to remove herself carefully without kneeing or elbowing her husband. He chuckled and assisted by sliding to his left as she shifted to her side of the bed. They lay quietly. Stephanie's eyes changed.

"What happened last night, Ranger?"

Ranger looked up at the ceiling. He looked down at her. His face showed some sadness. "We got an alarm from Al's Body Shop. Unfortunately somebody targeted his business. By the time we got there, the fire department had it under control. His building has suffered extensive damage along with some of the autos in the shop and the compound. We are checking right now to see if he was targeted because of our business or if it was a random act of violence."

He looked down at her. "The next time we see your family I need to tell Frank that all our Escapes that were in the shop are damaged or destroyed, but the new Buicks I ordered escaped any damage. I am still wondering if it was just dumb luck they were spared, or if your family's belief that they are invincible is really true. Regardless, Al is arranging for them to be brought to our garage and he will install our standard equipment here. It's going to be tight and we won't have many spare vehicles here for awhile."

Stephanie looked sadly at Ranger. She hated that someone had been affected by possibly one of her stalkers. She looked at Ranger.

"While you are waiting for the repairs or replacements, why not bring in some of the vehicles from the practice facility compound. If I am correct, they should be clean and ready to go." She grimaced at the memory.

Ranger started to laugh. He had heard what Tank had done to punish Stephanie oh so many weeks ago. He had left it to him to mete out the punishment needed and had stood by. Actually both Tank and Ranger had been very impressed how she had taken her punishment with a minimum of complaining. It seemed to have done the trick because while she was on surveillance now she had abstained from bringing food into the vehicles thereby keeping the trucks clean and not putting the men in a bad position. They were not allowed to have food so why should she?

They climbed out of bed. It was just past six am and Ranger had decided to stay in bed this morning. He had returned just after two am. Stephanie headed to the bathroom to do her business then turned on the shower and stepped in. She was soon joined by Ranger. After a very relaxing shower they prepared to face the day.

Hand in hand they headed for the control room. This morning they would have breakfast in the break room. Ella was taking a few days off with Louis. They were heading to Atlanta to visit their son and daughter in law and the new grand baby. This was their first grandchild and they had plans to spoil him immediately. They would be back by the end of the weekend but until then the building was on its own.

Tank had assigned work details for latrine duties, kitchen and general maintenance. He had vowed that the place would not be a pig sty upon their return. Inspection would be at 0800 each day. Tank had warned that failure to comply was not an option. The work detail schedule had been posted throughout the building and emailed to each employee's computer.

Ranger and Stephanie stepped into the break room. Brett was on kitchen duty. He watched as the men finished eating and stacked their dishes in the trays by the door. He washed down the tables as they became vacant. As the trays filled he picked one up and headed for the kitchen. The dishwasher was turned on and he came out with an empty tray. He picked up the next tray and retreated into the kitchen once again.

Binkie came into the break room. He smelled of disinfectant. He had been on latrine duty and was grabbing a cup of coffee before heading to his cubicle. Binkie spilled some coffee on the floor as he headed out the door. Brett wadded up a towel and nailed Binkie in the small of the back. He yelled, "You made a mess on my nice, clean floor, asshole. Clean it up!" Brett stood with his arms crossed. Binkie stopped and turned around. He looked at Ranger then mumbled an apology, stooped down and swept the cloth over the spill before leaving the room.

Ranger took his black coffee and a sliced whole grain bagel with fat free cream cheese and with Stephanie holding her cream and sugar laden coffee, a buttered blueberry muffin, yogurt, and a bowl of cereal on a tray they headed for his office. Ranger suspected that when Ella came back, she would be receiving a great number of bouquets of flowers thanking her for all she did for the men.

Tank came into Ranger's office. He was carrying his coffee and sat down in the easy chair. He was chuckling. Ranger started to laugh and their guffaws rang out. Both of them thought that Ella taking some time off might not be a bad idea now and then. Ranger made a mental note to give his aunt some paid time off every now and then. It would keep his men on their toes. He wondered who had drawn the short straw for cleaning the gym today. Bobby was conducting fitness testing and the gym on those days was in need of extra cleaning.

Stephanie was looking at her schedule. She wrinkled her nose in disgust. She was in charge of cleaning the gun range. Tank looked at his watch then he looked at her. She had less than an hour before inspection. She took the hint and headed out the door. Stephanie looked at Ranger. She pointed to the remnants of breakfast. He could brave Brett's wrath and return the tray to the break room.

**I will be posting the next chapter on Tuesday. Have a good Memorial Day.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately Janet did not change her will and give me Ranger and the guys.**

Chapter 11

The morning meeting had been backed up until 0815. Tank came in with a sheet of paper. He tacked it up on the bulletin board by the door. He strode to the front of the room. He was taking the meeting this morning. Ranger and Stephanie sat down to his right.

Tank stood at the front of the room. It was deathly quiet. He looked around. "Demerits are marked on the board. I am tempted to ask them to stay for another week. I'm sure they would love to pamper their family some more. You, on the other hand, will be re-learning how to keep a barracks clean."

He opened a folder. "On the matter of Al's Body Shop. Report."

He sat down. Lester stood up. He had a folder in his hand. "I spoke to Ted Hanson, the fire inspector. He will be back on site after the building cools down, but he strongly suspects arson. The first unit on the scene smelled gasoline although no containers were discovered. It looks like the office was targeted and is the most heavily damaged. The office is totally destroyed but Al had the presence of mind to store his books off site each evening. The back shop has damage but due to the fire wall and fire door, it was not fully engulfed. Unfortunately two trucks we had in for repair were on the hoists. One is totalled due to heat damage and the other one will need to be repainted on one side." Les sat down.

Hal stood up. "I spoke with Picky. After he berated me that Rangeman must have been involved somehow, he reported that a camera across the street caught on film a car pulling up to the side of the building and a single male emerged. He opened the trunk but the camera angle did not catch what he took out of the trunk. The car was a 2009 Toyota Camry with a Minnesota plate on the front. It had been reported stolen three days ago. They found the car early this morning on Stark Street. It had already been stripped."

He looked down at his notes. "Picky also mentioned that prior to that the same figure was seen to be skulking around the back compound where we had the new vehicles waiting to be installed with the standard Rangeman equipment and some of the current fleet parked in the back for a variety of maintenance work. Two Escapes were in for new tires, one for an alternator, and Tank's Hummer was in for a scheduled oil change. Al is having them all towed over to the practice compound and will check them out himself once they get here. He does not want anyone to start anything up until they have been cleared." Hal sat down.

Just then an incoming text came in on both Ranger's and Tanks phone. They quickly looked at them, then prepared to stand. Nobody sent a text unless it was very, very important during the morning meeting.

Ranger spoke up. "I need answers. Get your ears to the ground, use your contacts. We need to neutralize this threat, gentleman. Meeting adjourned." Before the men could lift themselves out of the chairs, Ranger and Tank were gone.

The remaining members walked to the sheet on the wall. There were groans and a few high fives. Stephanie snuck through the sea of black and stared at the board. Tank had provided details of the inspection that morning. Some of the teams had a clean sheet, but some of the teams were in trouble. Brett and his partner, Cesar had not put any bleach in the third sink full of water and their punishment was to have to re-wash all fifteen of Ella's big cooking pots before the next shift heated up the lunch meal.

Tiny and Maurice were in charge of mopping the tiled hallways and had left some soapy water by an elevator door. Their punishment was to re-mop the floor and wash the windows inside and outside the main floor reception area. Louis usually used a long-handled squeegee on the six foot tall windows, but the door to the broom closet on the main floor was padlocked and Tank had sealed the lock with his signature over the tape. There was a squeeze bottle of window cleaner and a roll of paper towel beside it on the receptionist desk.

Binkie and Casey had a star by their names. They had been assigned the general access building washrooms on all floors. Casey had very recently been added to Rangeman. He had just mustered out of the military and obviously remembered how to clean latrines.

Stephanie had received a demerit. She had run out of time and had worried that Tank would catch her still working. She had forgotten to re-stock the paper targets from the storeroom after cleaning the gun range, and had neglected to turn off the wall switch leaving all the lights in the entire range on. There were thirty seven pot lights in the range itself and four florescent ceiling lights in the waiting area. Her punishment was to re-stock the targets, and add 20 minutes on her least favorite exercise equipment, the stair-climber during her next exercise period. In addition, one day of Rangeman's monthly power bill would be docked from her pay.

There was also a directive about their personal apartments. There was a washing machine schedule posted for personal laundry and bedding. Effective immediately, Ella was not required to clean or launder any personal apartments. Extra garbage bags were available for disposing of refuse and all garbage bags had to be placed outside the apartment doors for pick up by 0700 each day.

Ella had earlier prepared meals for the men to just heat up during the time she was away but if they preferred to do their own cooking or eat out, it was their financial responsibility and Rangeman would not be reimbursing anyone.

~~~o0o~~~

Ranger and Tank sat in Tank's office. Ram was on the phone from Detroit. He spoke over the speaker. "Remember the guys that we let go after Stephanie had her hinky feelings around them? Well, I checked with some buddies who were in their unit and they were known to each other but never admitted it or hung out together while they were there. Terry, it seems has a temper and likes to blow off steam. I found out that his squad used to cover up for him as he was a good soldier out in the field but they never let him go on leave without at least two on him to keep him out of trouble. He gets drunk and then wants to fight someone, but as soon as he sleeps it off, he turns back into a mellow fellow."

Tank had his file open on the desk. He nodded. He would be speaking with Terry's references. He was going to discuss with them about withholding information like that. He figured that they would remember not to pull that stunt again.

Ram paused. "Did you know that Lenny has an identical twin brother? They have different surnames and served in different branches. Dad had custody of one boy and Mom had custody of the other. Lenny Mappins grew up in Maine and Benny Costigan grew up in Wyoming. A friend mentioned one day that he had heard there were identical twins running around in the service. It took some digging but eventually Human Resources Command was able to track them down by their service photos. Unfortunately by the time they had narrowed it down, they had both left the service. Lots of stories are running around that a squad would see who they thought was their guy wearing another branches uniform and appearing to be AWOL."

Ram started to chuckle. He spoke again. "Remember that really old movie that came out in like 1961? I think it was called The Parent Trap and was about twin girls separated from each other when their parents divorced. One lived on the east coast and one in the west. They met at some summer camp and changed places so they could meet their other parent. I guess these guys were doing almost the same thing. They didn't get caught because they were both doing the same job in a different branch."

There was silence on the line. Tank and Ranger looked at each other. They needed to find out what branch Benny came from and get the scoop on him. Sometimes the quiet men were the most dangerous. They didn't expend energy making a scene. They liked to make their actions do the talking. It would make it more difficult now if there were multiple threats.

Ranger spoke. "Ram, thanks, man. See if you can scare up anything else. We'll work on it on this end. We are now dealing with a whole different threat."

Ram agreed then signed off. Ranger looked at Tank. They were almost back to square one. Was Rangeman being targeted for dumping Lenny or was Stephanie being targeted for fingering Lenny and Terry? Could it be a red herring and while they were utilizing manpower to find these guys someone else could sneak in and cause mayhem?

Ranger looked at Tank. "Is that implant working properly and can you keep track of Babe?" Tank nodded but he did not look entirely confident.

"I wish that Les was in on this. Those programmers have been here to put a patch on the program and also we have requested a power point or a web lesson to ensure we know what we are looking at and how to interpret it to its full extent. We both know that he could hack into it and probably fix the whole program if he wanted to."

Ranger pondered his next move. It appeared that he would need to do more negotiating with Stephanie. She was becoming a very, very good negotiator. He steeled himself. He would take one for the team. He was a soldier. He believed he was up for the challenge.

**Thanks Trhodes9 for your IT and program information. Still using it. **


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Tank sat at his desk. He felt a heavy weight on his shoulders. He had always depended on Lester to explain the inner workings of any new computer program in simpler terms when Rangeman updated their computers. He looked the picture of calm and collected anytime he was on a computer but that had taken years of careful concentration to develop the ease he portrayed. New programs always threw him until he could become more comfortable with them. He loved when power point had come out with interactive learning versions and even enjoyed the calm voice explaining along with the visual demonstration. He would not usually use the Q and A portion but would check with Lester on a sticking point.

Now Stephanie had thrown a monkey wrench into the works with her request that Lester not participate. He and Bobby had spent way too much time carefully going over the tutorial time and time again, especially now that the patch had been installed and the program was up and running.

Time was usually against them when Stephanie was in danger. She was a magnet for disaster. No single person seemed to have the innate ability to get oneself in trouble like her.

Tank sighed and tried the procedure again. He was using a stopwatch to gauge how much he was improving on accessing the site and getting the information. Unbeknownst to anyone, he had brought up the tracker at numerous times during the day and night to test his readiness. He was slowly improving.

Bobby was only marginally worse.

~~~o0o~~~

Ranger let himself into the apartment. He could hear humming from the bathroom. He smiled. Stephanie always hummed when she took a bubble bath. He turned back and headed for the kitchen. He took a bottle of red wine, some glasses and put them on a tray. He looked in the fridge and pulled out some strawberries, melon and a clump of grapes and placed them around a bowl of peach yogurt.

Ranger let himself into the bathroom. Stephanie was laying back completely covered by the massive amount of bubbles that floated as high as her shoulders. She popped her eyes open as he closed the door. Her eyes took on an even more brilliant hue as she spied the delicious repast. A tiny smile tugged at the side of her mouth.

Ranger carefully placed the tray on the stool by the tub. He quickly disrobed and slid in behind her. She moaned a little and nestled against his broad chest. He reached over and poured a glass of wine, then handed it to her. Her hands were covered in bubbles and they wiggled and popped as she grasped her goblet. He poured himself a glass and gently clinking it to hers took a sip. She sighed.

Ranger took a strawberry and dipped it into the yogurt. He put it to her lips and watched as she opened her mouth and took a dainty bite. He popped the rest into his mouth. They took another sip of wine. Slowly they drained the wine bottle and ate all the fruit on the plate. The water was getting cool. Ranger stood up and held his hand out to Stephanie to help her step out. He had a large and fluffy towel ready to wrap around her then wrapped a towel around himself and securely tied it.

They walked out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. He walked her slowly to the side of the bed and gently guided her to sit down. He looked at her with his chocolate brown eyes. She became lost in them and barely noticed when he removed both towels.

They made love slowly, exploring each others bodies with their hands, tongues and lips. It was very sensual.

They lay tangled together. It had not been hard and wild sex but soft and loving. Ranger could feel Stephanie just barely staying awake. She was too tired to even doodle on his chest, as she was wont to do. Now was the time.

Ranger spoke in her ear. "Babe."

She stirred and murmured. "Yeah."

Ranger kissed her ear. "Babe, we need to talk." Stephanie shifted and opened her eyes. "K."

Ranger tried again. "Babe, I need to talk to you about Les. Tank really needs him on the project. He is drowning trying to learn the computer program and Les has always bailed him out. He knows a bit more about computers than Tank and Bobby is too busy to really learn it. Will you allow him back on the team? Please?"

Stephanie tried to keep her eyes open. "He will track me when I go lingerie shopping. I don't want that."

Ranger sighed. This was going to be harder than he thought. He was going to have to release a long held secret. He cuddled her to him and kissed her behind her ear nipping it gently.

"Babe, Lester used to work a lot with computers awhile ago. He is very, very knowledgeable about getting into programs and looking at things. We try to curtail his activities because he can't get caught or he goes to jail."

Stephanie turned in his arms. She put her head on his chest, and sighed. "I already found the file with the charges on it. If he gets caught, he goes to jail – military jail, Ranger. That's hard labor. I would feel very, very badly that I was the reason."

Ranger lifted her off his chest and looked in her twinkling eyes. He smiled. Even he sometimes forgot her wicked search skills. She had learned from the best and had improved a lot since she began at Rangeman so many years ago.

She smiled at him. "I loved the latest round of negotiation, but if he really needs to be on it, I won't stop him. But if he does and gets caught, I get to torture him before he goes to jail."

Ranger lay her back on his chest. He smiled in spite of himself. It appears she won the latest round.

The next morning Ranger pulled Lester aside. "You are back in the project. Help Tank and don't get caught."

Les looked at him. He could see that Ranger was looking a little tired this morning. He assumed there was a story behind it. He grinned.

"She made you work for it, didn't she? I can see it in your eyes. You are getting soft, man."

Ranger growled. "I'll show you soft. You can show me your skills on the mats tomorrow at 5."

Ranger walked away into Tank's office. He could hear a soft, "Oh, man!"

The relief on Tanks' face was immediate when he found out Les was back on the project. He closed the thick manual that was laying open on the desk, stood up and walked around the desk. He clapped Ranger on the back, propelling him a step or two toward the door. Tank forgot his strength sometimes when he was excited.

'I'll buy you a coffee and a bagel. It looks like you need a boost." Tank was getting to love this negotiation thing that Ranger and Stephanie had going on. Everyone benefitted.

Stephanie stepped out of the elevator. She had just changed into her Rangeman uniform after her workout downstairs. Unfortunately she had had to change her exercise time to early morning. With Ella gone the men had to perform their housekeeping tasks before inspection this week and the gym was closed from 0700 to 1500.

It was such a nice day and she would have preferred to go outside for a run, but with the threat not neutralized, she hadn't even asked if she could take someone with her. She was effectively a prisoner in her own building. She had taken out her aggressions on the weights and the stair-climber today.

She headed for the break room. Tank and Ranger were still in the room. Tank looked relieved and nodded at her. She nodded back. Her eyes narrowed as Les walked in the room. He came up to her. He looked at Ranger then shrugged. He was already headed for the mats anyway. He took her hand and looked in her eyes.

"I promise to be good. I will be careful. Nobody will even know. I have learned a lot since I was that kid, Beautiful."

She looked at him with troubled eyes. "You make sure you do, Les. Hard labour is all it's cracked up to be."

She took her coffee and muffin and headed for the conference room for the morning meeting.

Tank took the first part of the meeting once again. "Today is much better. Less demerits and this place is tightening up. Ella will be back on Sunday. She says she misses you. Remember to thank her and Louis for all the work they do when you see them." Tank sat down.

Ranger stood up.

"What have we learned from the threat?"

Maurice stood up. "I spoke to Al in the garage. He has checked all the vehicles from his shop and compound. As we know one vehicle is totalled and one needs to be repainted. The Escapes in the back compound all had some damage done to them. Gas lines were cut, or foreign material put into the gas tanks. Some were keyed or spray painted. Whoever did this did not know about the new vehicles in the lot. The Enclaves were all left alone and will be ready to roll tomorrow." Maurice sat down.

Hector stood up. He spoke in Spanish and Lester translated for those not fluent in the language. "I checked with the gangs on Stark Street. They stripped the Camry and the parts are on their way to who knows where now. One member remembered two empty gas cans in the back seat. He also remembered some gloves on the floor of the passenger seat. Nobody saw the person get out of the car or what they left in. There were no keys and the car had been hotwired. One member mentioned that the seat was pushed all the way back as if a very tall person or one with very long legs had driven it." Hector sat down.

Tank stood up. Everyone sat a little taller. Tank rarely gave out information at a morning meeting. He usually alternated taking the meeting or listening as the reports came in. Tank looked around.

"Remember Terry Gandolf and Lenny Mappins? They were here as contract workers not that long ago. Little Girl had one of her hinky feelings about them both and after extensive background checks, we fired them and sent them packing. Unfortunately, we have had some additional intelligence come through on these two characters. Even though they both appeared not to know or associate with each other, in reality they were buddies in the service. What has also come to light is the fact that Lenny has an identical twin brother by the name of Benny Costigan. They were not raised together. We are trying to obtain some more information on these three. As of this moment, we are putting them in a watch category. It may be nothing, but if they are targeting either Rangeman or Stephanie, we want to be prepared."

Tank sat down. He looked around. It looked like Casey was thinking something. He continued to stare at Casey until he looked up at Tank and nodded. Tank mentally cleared his schedule after the meeting. He had a feeling that Casey would be in his office with the door closed.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

As suspected Casey wanted to see Tank. He was standing by his door as Tank walked back from the meeting. Tank stopped in front of him. "Do I need to get Ranger so we both can hear this?"

Casey nodded. His hands were sweaty and he could feel the sweat pop out on his brow. He stood at parade rest. This felt ten times worse than waiting for the principal in school. Lord knew, he had been in front of the principal enough times, but this, well...

Tank pulled out his phone. He spoke a few words and hung up. He motioned Casey to follow him and walked through the door. Casey stood at parade rest in front of the massive desk. He could hear Ranger talking to someone as they came down the hall. Ranger ended the conversation and came in the room closing the door behind him. He walked to a chair sitting beside Tank's but off to the side. This was his office and Tank was in charge of this meeting. Ranger sat down and watched Casey.

They could both see he was nervous in front of them. Tank looked at Ranger. There was a world of silent communication and then their eyes flicked back to stare at him. They left him at parade rest. It would make him feel in a familiar environment and the military stance would keep him concentrating without sitting in a chair and become flustered what he wanted to say.

It was a tactic that had worked in the past. The men seemed to appreciate the military maneuver. They would forget the unnecessary things like how soft a chair was or a painting on the wall. They were in this room for a reason. Tank barked. "Report."

Casey popped to attention. He looked straight in front of him and spoke. "I served from Ft. Bragg. Benny Costigan was at my base but not in my platoon. He had a really bad attitude and was always in trouble with the MP's. He had a violent temper and put a number of guys in the hospital. There were reports that he had a juvie record as long as our arms, mostly for cruelty to animals or bullying, or assault. I never personally met him but there were some rumors running around about the twin thing but never was Costigan tied to that rumor. He was a weapons repair tech on base. We had sharp shooter competitions every few months and he usually cleaned up each time. He is an awesome shot with anything involving a weapon in the military, U.S. or not."

Tank stood up. He walked around the desk to Casey and slapped him on the back. Casey relaxed in spite of himself. He tried not to grimace. Tank was very, very strong.

Tank looked at Ranger. He shook his head slightly that he had no questions. Tank looked back at Casey. "Thanks for the information. We will see if we can get something more. Did you ever see Lenny, or was he ever here working after you arrived?"

Casey thought hard. "I don't think I ever worked with him, but I did hear his voice a couple of times when he was in the break room. I always thought he had an attitude."

Tank smiled. That was twice he had heard about Lenny having that attitude. He walked back to his desk and picked up a file folder. While Casey was in the room and Ranger was nearby, they might as well go over his performance report. Tank leaned back against his desk. He appeared to be reading a report. He looked up at Casey.

"I have been analyzing your Performance Review. I note that you have tested satisfactory in all areas. Your driving could use a bit more work but your surveillance techniques tested in the approval stage. Ram is happy with your test scores on the range and Woody has noted that he will give you some more practice time in a vehicle next week. As you know, we are a bit short on vehicles right now, but we will get you out and raise that score soon. Do you have any questions about Rangeman?"

Casey thought carefully. He had learned a lot in the few months he had been here. Airborne had prepared him for the rigors of military life, but there was so much more to learn in a security setting.

He looked at Ranger. "I tried to keep a tail on your wife, Sir, but she gave me the slip. I've heard she doesn't like the guys following her but if she is the best at getting away, I would like to get better watching her. I think I could do a better job with practice, if that's OK."

Ranger couldn't contain himself and gave out a great guffaw. He looked at Tank and he too was grinning.

"You are not alone in trying to keep track of Stephanie. She can sense surveillance and can give our guys fits trying to keep track of her. Everyone routinely takes a shot at trying to keep tabs on her, but few have succeeded. I'll add you to the list for re-do's. Everyone needs to keep on their toes with her."

Tank walked toward the door. "Good job, Casey. Report back to your station. If you think of something else, find one of the Core Team."

Tank opened the door and Casey marched out. Tank closed the door again and turned around. Ranger was already on the phone. He had a few contacts in the 82nd and would get the information they needed on the q.t.

~~~o0o~~~

Stephanie was pacing near her cubicle. She had searches running and was waiting for the results. She was really feeling the need to get out of the building. There was just too must testosterone running around and she felt the need for some female company. Ella was wonderful, but she was a little old for some discussions.

She headed for Ranger's office. She was willing to do some more negotiating for some freedom. As luck would have it, he was in his office surrounded by paperwork. She stopped by the door jamb and leaned against it. She never tired of the view in front of her. He was the picture of a bad-ass executive at that moment. He had a pencil in his hand and was twirling it through his fingers like a baton twirler warming up for half time at a football game. She smiled as he looked up. His face immediately took on a 200 watt smile and he pushed his chair back from the desk motioning her to him. She walked in and proceeded to sit on his lap. She looked back at the door. Darn, she had forgotten to close it.

She looked surprised as the door softly closed. She had not recognized the hand but the fact that someone had recognized their need for privacy did not escape her.

Stephanie put her arms around Ranger's neck and gave him a soft kiss. He responded immediately and she could feel how her ministrations were affecting other parts of him as well. She thought she could help him with that later that evening, but she was on another mission right now.

"Ranger, I really need to get out of the building. I have been caged in here for a week now and I need to get out, if only for a couple of hours. I know you can find me with this stupid tracker. It wouldn't surprise me if Tank hasn't been finding me at all times of the day and night to practice. I can see it in his eyes. I have some things to buy and I need to inhale something Italian. If I have one more thing with sprouts on it, I will grow roots!"

Ranger chuckled. He had been anticipating that response for a couple of days. He had already checked with Tank and Les and they were more confident of the ability to track her if they needed to. Their response time was bordering on lightning speed now that Les was on the project and he had taken to the new program easily. Mind you, he had already diagnosed a number of programming errors and had repaired them on their computer, but it should go no further. He had written in that the next time the programmers dropped by to update, his patch would not be picked up.

Ranger looked in her eyes. They were the color of steel gray/blue, not a good time to tease. He could feel her tense up. She was meant to be free and locking her in a building for the rest of her life would dull the spirit that lay innermost in her soul. They would do what they could, but she did still have a life.

Ranger caressed her cheek. He lay her head against his chest. She could hear his heart beating with its slow, steady beat.

"How about you take one of the new Enclaves? Your dad would be overjoyed if you showed up there with it. I'm not too ready for you to head to a mall yet after the last scare, but if you want to have lunch at home, we could keep a safe distance and yet allow you to have a good visit with your family. Then, if that works out, we can try a restaurant later tonight. Ella is still away for awhile and I don't think we want to do much cooking. I will make a reservation at the last minute in case someone gets wind of our plans. "

Stephanie smiled. Her Cuban sex-god was always understanding of her unique needs. He had obviously anticipated her plea beforehand and had already set a procedure in place. She gave him a kiss on the lips and wiggled her butt trying to get off. He held her a minute longer.

He looked in her eyes. He could drown looking in there. They were so full of life and excitement. He got pleasure from the little things that made her excited. Obvious things like dessert, but subtle things like a stained glass ornament hanging against a window catching the suns rays, the buds emerging from a tree after a long and hard winter, or standing on the roof of the Rangeman building looking at all the twinkling lights during the Christmas season.

She had singlehandedly brought life back to his cold, dark heart. He had forgotten the little things in life while changing or making right the big things.

Reluctantly he let her go. She danced to the door. He could see how excited she was at the promise of some time outside the safe confines of Rangeman. Ranger thought about stealing away with his wife when this was all over. They had enjoyed their Caribbean honeymoon and had earmarked some favorite places to return to. Maybe it was time to re-visit some of those favorite haunts.

Stephanie had her hand on the doorknob. "If I hurry, I can get lunch at home. It is Thursday, so Mom always has provolone and cheese sandwiches and basil tortellini soup. I hope she still has some coffee cake."

With that, she disappeared toward the stairs. Ranger looked at the surveillance camera pictures on his computer. His phone was in his hand and he pressed a number speaking quietly. "Operation Safety Check is a Go."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Stephanie climbed into the new Enclave. She wriggled her butt into the buttery soft leather. Sure it was still black everything, but in her dad's mind, a Buick was a Buick, the greatest brand of automobile ever invented. It was All American, just like his jockey shorts, and shirts. (little did he know that Helen had a seemingly unending supply of Made In the U.S.A. tags and had been sewing them in his clothing for years)

She motored out of the garage pretending that the vehicle following her was heading on another errand. Stephanie stopped at Giovanni's for a coffee cake and some Italian salami and cheese along with a loaf of squishy white bread. Nobody in her family would touch anything to do with whole wheat until it had been milled down to perfectly white flour.

Stephanie stopped in front of the house. Her Grandmother and Mother were standing at the door with questioning expressions on their faces. Frank peeked through the front window and then the curtains moved as he dashed outside. Stephanie had a smile as she opened the door and stepped out. She had the key ring twirling on her finger and with a quick kiss hello, Frank snatched the keys and jumped into the vehicle.

He brushed his hands gently over the steering wheel, then looked appreciably at the dash, taking in the different dials and gauges. He adjusted the rear view mirror and wriggled his shoulders in excitement. He turned the key in the ignition and listened to the big engine roar to life.

Stephanie closed the door and made a take off gesture. Frank grinned and put on the seatbelt, shifted the SUV into gear and sped off. Stephanie waved at the guys in the SUV down the road. There was a flash of lights and they took off after Frank. Less than a minute later another SUV took its place.

Stephanie walked up to the doorway and gave her mom and grandma a hug. They were both chuckling as they all walked into the house arm in arm. Stephanie handed off the bag of groceries to her mom and they headed for the kitchen. They figured they would see Frank in about twenty minutes. He had a favorite route to "test" a new vehicle so rushing to make lunch was not a high priority today.

Stephanie headed for the coffee pot that seemed to always be full and poured herself a cup of coffee adding in sugar and milk to her taste. She sat at the kitchen table and watched as lunch was being prepared.

Soup sat on top of the stove, bubbling away in the big stock pot. Today it was potato with bacon and the smells had wafted out the front door and assaulted Stephanie's nose upon arrival. This was one of her favorite soups that her mom made and usually only once a month. This was Stephanie's lucky day.

The conversation in the kitchen was easy and light. They hoped Carlos could come for supper soon. Helen wanted to try out a new Cuban recipe. They commented on how much stronger Stephanie looked each time they saw her. They complimented her on her continually ever more toned body. Helen pointedly ignored the gun in the holster on her hip. Edna's eyes strayed to it a number of times but Stephanie ignored her.

Grandma regaled Stephanie with the details of her last senior's bus trip to the casino. Marty McBeth had come at the last minute alone because he and his former girlfriend had had a lover's spat and he had left her at home. He was feeling rather glum at the prospect of spending the rest of his life alone when he won the casino's progressive top prize on the slots for the month. He was now over a quarter of a million dollars richer and figured that Lady Luck was telling him something. He was already casting around for a new lady friend and was taking applications. Edna had applied but figured she was out of the running because she was only fifteen years younger than Marty and he was looking for someone with their own teeth.

Helen was rolling her eyes in disgust as she continued to make lunch. Her mother was a constant source of embarrassment and the burg grapevine had hummed for a few days after that episode.

Frank walked into the house heading for the kitchen to gave Stephanie back her keys. He had a huge grin on his face. He had already texted Ranger and complimented him on his choice of vehicle and asked him when he was getting rid of that foreign car and replacing it with a real one.

Ranger had responded that his Porsche was unique and he liked it, a lot.

They sat down for lunch. In the Plum household, mealtime was an animated affair. Finally they all sat back and sighed in contentment. Dessert would come a bit later and this was the time to catch up.

Frank spoke up."Nice wheels you have there. I see Ranger finally came to his senses and purchased a superior work vehicle to protect you and your men."

Stephanie smiled. "Did you hear about Al's Garage catching fire? We had some trucks in there for repair and they were all damaged either by the fire or by vandalism. The only ones not touched were the new Buick's. Either they have their own protection or somebody did not know they belong to Rangeman."

Frank nodded his head. The cabbies had been talking about it. They had their own gossip grapevine and not much happened in Trenton that they did not hear about. So far, no tidbits of information had made their way to a cabby's ears but it was only a matter of time. Frank was always very agreeable to passing on information as needed. He could phone Eddie, or Ranger.

Stephanie looked at her watch. Unfortunately if she wanted to see Connie and Lula at the bond office, she had to leave soon. She stood up and gave her family a hug. Since her most recent brush with death, they all took leave taking a bit more seriously.

She walked down the path to her SUV and prepared to leave. She noticed that a new set of protective Merry Men were watching. They too were in an Enclave. She gave them a wave and received a headlight flash in return.

She sped off to Tasty Pastry. One should never, ever arrive at the office without a peace offering, and especially if one had not visited in awhile. With pastry box in hand, she slid off of the seat from the vehicle and strode inside.

Connie was sitting at her desk filing her nails. Lula was sitting on the couch reading a magazine. Stephanie opened the box and set it on the front of the desk. She sat down in the plastic chair that she had always claimed and waited for the clouds of confectioner's sugar to drift down as hands snaked into the box bringing out a tasty treat.

Stephanie leaned over to check if there was still a Boston Creme left. The front plate glass window shattered in a million pieces and glass flew everywhere. Both Connie and Lula hit the floor. They looked at Stephanie laying on the ground, motionless. Blood was flowing from a wound on her head. Lula reached over and found the panic button in Stephanie's purse. She pressed it. Connie had crawled over after dragging the phone off the desk. She was on the phone calling in a 911 to the bond office.

Stephanie's phone was ringing. Lula picked it up with one hand and answered it while still pressing her jacket over the wound with the other.

Tank was on the line. "Who is this?" Lula was sobbing. "It's me, Tankie Bear. Skinny White Girl has been shot in the head. She's bleeding everywhere. Connie is calling 911. Someone shot through the window."

Tank felt the blood drain from his face. He looked around noting Ranger had already flown out of the office and down the stairs. Woody was on the monitors and had lifted the door to the garage. Two more trucks had been dispatched to the bond office and Bobby was waiting for Tank to leave. Standard Operating Procedure had Bobby attend every shooting and he would provide interference at the hospital. Unfortunately, since it was Stephanie, Bobby would need someone as strong as Tank if things went wrong. They raced out the door and down the stairs to the garage. Tank drove and handed the phone to Bobby so that he could continue to talk to Lula.

The ambulance had arrived and the EMT's had already staunched the flow of blood. They were loading her into the ambulance as Ranger raced up. He screeched to a halt in the middle of the road and jumped out, neither turning off the car nor closing the door. He raced to the back of the ambulance and jumped in before they could close the door. He sat on the jump seat watching Stephanie as they sped off to the hospital holding her hand in his and caressing it softly. Once again, she was injured, possibly a warning to him or a failed attempt to end her life.

Tank and Bobby met the ambulance at the hospital. Bobby followed the gurney into the triage room and Tank and Ranger were left to pace outside in the waiting room. Once again, the room was filling rapidly with Rangemen, the Plum family and Connie and Lula.

Bobby emerged. He headed to Ranger. Ranger and Tank straightened up. Bobby had on his best blank face. He stopped in front and looked at Ranger. "She's used up another life, Ranger. It is a scalp wound, but she is not going to like that they had to cut a pretty long strip of her hair off for the stitches. Dr. Evans didn't even wait for me to ask, but says they have to make sure she is fully awake before we can take her home. He thinks she hit her cheekbone on the corner of the desk when she fell and may have a fracture. I will head back and get your apartment ready for her. I'm not even going to ask if she wants to stay on four. She will have to wake up every two hours for the next day. I assume you will take on that responsibility."

With that, he signalled to Casey and they left the waiting room. Casey's partner, Binkie would catch a ride with someone else.

Ranger slipped out the door and headed down the hall. He peeked into each examination room until he found the right one. A nurse was checking her vitals and Ranger slid in beside the bed on the other side. He took a look at her. Her head was bandaged but some of her curly hair was peeking out from under the bandage. He looked at her face. Her right cheekbone was already showing a large bruise from hitting the corner of the desk.

This had to stop. One of these times, whoever was doing this would be successful.

He could hear boots approaching. His hand was on his gun until he spied Binkie and Zip standing watch. Ranger sat quietly. He must had zoned out because some time later, he could hear a gurney approach the curtained off area, then voices. Binkie was asking what was happening.

Ranger stood up. An orderly was rolling in a gurney and placing it beside the bed. A nurse followed and between them they shifted Stephanie onto the gurney. There was a clipboard on the bed and he spied an appointment for an x-ray for her cheekbone for possible fracture. Ranger followed the gurney to the elevator with the two men following. The orderly pressed the button and summoned the elevator. It arrived but there was just enough room for the gurney, Ranger and the orderly.

Ranger spoke. "Take the stairs and meet us down in radiology. I'll be with her."

The men obediently headed for the stairs. The doors closed. Ranger felt uneasy. He was hemmed into a corner and almost unable to move. He noticed the orderly press the button for the back door to open at Level 2. Before he could question the action, he felt a buzz and his world turned black.

The back door opened and the orderly pushed the gurney out of the elevator. He reached back in and pressed the button for the 12th floor and sent the elevator heading upward overriding the system by a key fob in his hand. Ranger lay slumped in a corner of the elevator.

He pushed the gurney to a loading dock door. There was a vehicle sitting waiting.

Swiftly one man scooped up Stephanie and her blanket and then shoved her in the back seat. The other man slammed the doors closed and they sped off.

**I will be positing the next chapter on Monday. Have a good weekend everyone.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Thanks Janet for your handsome characters.**

Chapter 15

Binkie and Zip walked out of the stairwell. They headed for the desk to check when Stephanie would be finished. The receptionist looked at them with suspicion. "We are waiting for them to show. The tech is standing around and we moved a bunch of patients to get her in. I was just about to call to see where the hold up was."

Binkie pulled out his cellphone. Tank answered. Binkie spoke. "We are down in radiology. There was no room in the elevator so Ranger went in with Steph on the gurney with the porter. The receptionist says they never arrived. Did they head back for some reason?"

Tank swore. "Stay there. Watch the elevator. I'm calling Ranger right now." He pressed the end button then repressed a number. It went to voicemail after four rings. Tank hung up. He started to bark orders. There were some men still in the waiting room. He had his phone to his ear once again. As he was dialling Woody on monitors to send more men, he was gesturing the men in the waiting room to come closer. He spoke to everyone at once.

"Something happened in the elevator on the way to the radiology department. They never arrived."

Tank pointed to one man."Get some men to find that elevator and check inside."

He pointed to another man."Get Hector on the cameras, now."

He pointed to another. "Get Bobby and/or Les to call me."

He found himself pacing in the waiting room. Never did everything go according to plan when the Bomber was involved. How could one unconscious patient on a gurney disappear?

Tank's phone rang. He flipped it open and barked 'talk'. He growled then spoke. "Get him down to Emergency." He looked around. "Ranger was found unconscious in the elevator. They are taking him down right now to check him out. It looks like he sensed some danger as his gun was in his hand. "

His phone rang. Les was on the other end of the line. Tank walked down the hallway to speak in private. "We have a situation. Little Girl appears to have been taken from right under our noses. We are checking the hospital, but I need your special talents right now."

Lester swore softly. This was the situation they had all dreaded. It was time to see if all their practicing and work was going to pay off. She had no other tracker on her, so this was a one-shot deal. He was now sitting in Tank's massive chair in his office. He signed in and was going through the protocol. Bobby was standing behind him and could barely keep up with all the commands. He marvelled at the ease that Les had accessed the program and thanked all the powers that be that Stephanie had allowed Les to join.

Les swore. He typed some commands, then hit enter. He typed more, then tried to back space. He looked at Bobby.

"The program has locked up. It is looping again, like it did at the beginning." He looked at Bobby.

Time was of the essence here. She could be anywhere and in her current medical condition it might be even more of a priority to find and save her. He was under no illusions that she had left under her own steam so the only option was an abduction.

Les looked at the ceiling, then he started to type. His fingers flew over the keys. He was muttering to himself and a deep furrow appeared on his forehead.

Bobby was afraid to ask but he couldn't stand the suspense any longer.

"What are you doing?" Les stopped typing and looked at his best friend. He shook his head and began typing again.

Bobby spoke in a whisper. "Are you changing the program, Les? Will it be detected? Do you know what will happen if they find you doing this?"

Les pursed his lips. He was well aware of the ramifications of his actions. The signed note, the threat of hard labour, the lack of freedom all weighed heavily on his heart and mind. Balanced on the other side of the scale was the fact that Stephanie was missing and he was the only person who could find her, hopefully in time.

Les hit enter once again. He smiled in spite of himself.

Les and Bobby were looking at the information. Her tracker was definitely on the move. Bobby phoned Tank. "She is not at the hospital so you can call off the search. We have her turning south onto 206."

Tank grunted. He was now down in Emergency watching as Ranger was regaining consciousness. His eyes were unfocussed and he was trying to clear the cobwebs from his brain. He put his hands up and pressed them against each side of his head to stop the pounding headache he was experiencing. He opened his eyes again and saw Tank standing over him.

Ranger tried to lift himself off the bed. Tank put his strong, dark hand on his chest and pressed him back into the bed. "Stay there until we have you checked out. I think you were stunned but I need to make sure it is nothing else."

Ranger tried to push Tank's hand off him but Tank had the advantage of standing over Ranger and his hand stayed on Ranger's chest. Dr. Evans walked into the room and assessed the situation. The air was charged with tension. He cleared his throat as he moved slowly to the bed. Tank glared at Ranger but took his hand off his chest and stepped back. The good doctor quickly checked his vitals then ran his fingers over Ranger's scalp to make sure he had not fallen and hit his head. Dr. Evans grunted and stepped back. He put his arm under Ranger's arm and assisted him slowly to sit up. Ranger weaved a bit then adjusted.

Dr. Evans spoke. "I am not in favor of exchanging one patient for another here. I would prefer to have Stephanie back. Besides being prettier, she is injured. I assume you are in the process of finding her and I do want to see her when you get her back. This is a hospital after all!"

With that, he stomped out of the room. He put Ranger's discharge papers on the chair before the curtain finished closing.

Tank assisted Ranger off the bed as he was still not too steady on his feet. Tank waited for Ranger to give him some details. Instead, he watched as Ranger grabbed the papers and headed out of the emergency area. He raised an eyebrow at the door and Tank pointed to one of the Enclaves.

Tank drove and Ranger related what had happened as the door closed on the elevator. Tanks's phone rang and he handed it to Ranger. "Yo." There was silence on the other end of the line. "I have Tank's phone and he is driving us back to Rangeman. Report."

Zip was on the line. "We found a porter stunned, gagged and tied up in a broom closet. He was down to his skivvies and mentioned that he had a key fob for the elevator and was the radiology porter. Some guy came up to him and that's all he remembers."

Ranger nodded. He advised Zip to have Hector call him when he had some tape of Stephanie being whisked out of the hospital, then hung up. He leaned his head against the head rest and sighed. Being stunned left one almost helpless for at least an hour while all the symptoms disappeared. He was glad that Tank had been there to take charge.

Not soon enough they arrived at the garage and the door was opening in front of them. Ranger climbed out of the vehicle and they headed for the elevator. The door closed and the elevator rose unbidden to five. The floor was full of men, some on duty and many off duty standing by ready to help.

Tank barked, "Conference Room C, five minutes."

They walked into the room. It was filled to capacity with men in black. Some were already fully dressed for action, and some looked like they had just been dragged from their beds.

Ranger strode to the front. "Report."

Tank stood up. "The gurney that Stephanie was on and Stephanie debarked the elevator on Level 2 which is a loading dock. Hector brought up the camera feed showing somebody with their face covered pushing her to a loading dock door and then two other men putting her in the back of a car. She appeared to be unconscious. Two men jumped into the car and sped away. We have tracked the plate of the car and it was reported stolen last night from Philadelphia. The person acting as a porter abandoned the gurney and left by the loading dock door. We are dusting for prints right now." Tank sat down.

Zip stood up. "We found a radiology porter gagged, stripped and tied up in a broom closet. He said he was approached by a man from behind and before he could speak, it was lights out. He was scheduled to pick up Stephanie from Emergency for an x-ray to her cheekbone for a possible fracture." Zip sat down.

Ranger looked at all the assembled men. Stephanie had always said that she felt they were family. He looked at Tank.

Ranger stood up. "Men." The room was deathly silent.

"I am telling you on a need to know basis. Rangeman was selected to participate in a test experiment for a period of two years. One of our team would be surgically implanted with a special tracking device that could be monitored from here and tracked by a military satellite. I won't go into specifics, but Stephanie is carrying that implant. Les, Bobby and Tank are trained in following her by her signal. Right now Les and Bobby are in an office and they report that she is presently on the move. She was unconscious when she was snatched so she was unable to defend herself."

He looked around the room. "We Are Going To Get Her Back."

The men assumed their classic blank face expressions. "I need Alpha and Bravo teams ready to move as soon as we get a location. Charlie team is on stand-by. Dismissed. "

The chairs scraped back and there was a rush for the door. Men were flying to the weapons lockers in the garage ready to leave at a moment's notice.

Les was still working on the keyboard. Sweat was running down the side of his face. He was concentrating so hard he never noticed that Ranger and Tank had walked into the office. They cleared their throats and he jumped. He motioned them over with a shake of his head, his eyes never leaving the screen. Les continued to type. Tank looked at him. He knew enough about the program that there was no need for this much typing. He tensed up.

Les could feel Tank's eyes boring into him. He looked at him and shook his head. Tank sighed.

Les spoke. "They have left 206 and are on 68 now. It looks like they are heading to the North Hanover Township."

Ranger spoke up. "Lenny Mappins served at JB MDL. He was a weapons tech and signed in and out the ammo. He would have had access to the shells we have the casing for. I spoke with his CO and he was suspected of stealing ammo and weapons while assigned there but they had no proof. He finally mustered out and everyone heaved a sigh of relief when he left. He continues to rent a place in North Hanover Township."

Tank headed for the door. He was on Team Alpha with Ranger, Bobby, Les and Ram. Unfortunately Ram was in Detroit and Les was on the computer. They would really need Team Bravo to step up to the plate. Tank took out his phone. He wanted Team Charlie handy. They would be coming too.

Ranger phoned the Base Commander. He gave some detail but asked if there were military families near Mappin's residence. The CO left him on hold for only a few minutes then returned. Mappins was in a gated community and all the families there were military. Ranger asked if they could be moved out quietly and without disturbing anyone let alone alerting Lenny and his accomplice to the impending invasion. The CO promised his support and hung up.

Ranger walked to the door. "Keep us appraised, Les. I don't need to tell you to do your job, but at the same time, don't get caught. Stephanie made me promise that if you go to jail, she gets to torture you first."

Les grimaced then laughed out loud. "I've learned a few things since then, Ranger. Try to assure Beautiful when you have her safe in your arms that I am not anticipating her trying to torture me. I will send you any and all co-ordinates as I get them. Good luck and happy hunting." His eyes never left the screen.

He neglected to tell Ranger of the problem with the program and Bobby also kept his mouth shut. He hoped that Les knew what he was doing. To his untrained eye it looked like he had completely re-written the entire program and it looked easier to work on now. A life was at stake, but so was a life out of prison. It was quite the trade-off and was Les's decision. Bobby hoped that he was as good as he had bragged one evening after drinking a few too many beer. Bobby hoped that he could cover his tracks well enough if there was an investigation.

He hated military prisons. In his younger days, Bobby had not always been the quiet, model medic. He had been upfront with Ranger and Tank, but he had served time for a number of serious assaults on fellow soldiers while under the influence. Bobby had been diagnosed with an advanced case of PTSD while incarcerated and had managed to deflect a dishonorable discharge. After some intense counselling, he had gone on to a productive career as a top notch medic. He was usually the Rangeman designated driver now on any Friday night bar hop. He had not had a drink in seven years.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Stephanie groaned. She had a massive headache and her cheek hurt. She was laying on some strange bed. It felt neither like a hospital bed, nor a bed at Rangeman. She slowly opened her eyes but closed them again to keep out the sun's glare. She tried to lift her arms up to shield her eyes but found herself handcuffed by one wrist to a metal bed frame. She felt confused. She remembered reaching for a donut and then nothing. She shook her head in confusion. She had no idea what time it was as she was not wearing her watch but by the set of the sun it was almost sunset.

Stephanie looked down at herself. She was dressed in a hospital johnny and a light hospital blanket was wrapped around her. She listened for any sounds that would give her an idea where she was, but there was only silence.

She took stock of her situation. She could hopefully find something to pick the lock on the handcuffs, but until she had a better idea of how she was feeling, she was unsure if she would even be able to make her way to safety. She smiled to herself. She hoped that at that moment a whole horde of Rangemen were on their way. She figured that Les, Bobby and/or Tank would be tracking her right about now.

Stephanie could hear some noises. She lay down again and pretended to still be unconscious. She heard the scrape of the key in the lock of the front door and the door opening then closing. She heard boots being dropped on the entrance way flooring. There was a rustle of paper like a grocery bag as it was set on a surface in the kitchen. The fridge door opened and closed a number of times. The garbage can lid banged open and then closed. Stephanie tried to control her breathing but it had a strangled sound even to her. She opened her eyes and stared at the man in the doorway.

He looked almost the same as Lenny Mappins but there was a slight difference. He looked a bit heavier than Lenny and his haircut was different. He leaned against the doorway and looked her way. "I see you finally woke up. You really know how to mess up plans. We had it all figured out, then you had to stick your nose into everything. I tried to tap you at the mall but you got lucky. I knew you couldn't stay in that fortress forever. This time we will put you somewhere where you will never be found."

Stephanie looked at him. She glared. "What do you want with me? I didn't do anything to deserve any of this. Ranger will find me and you will regret every moment for the rest of your miserable life. When he is done with you, you will only be an unidentified spot on the earth."

Benny smiled. He walked over to Stephanie and tried to trace a finger down her cheek. She recoiled back and gave him a kick. He laughed and caught her leg in his hand. He ran his hand up and down her leg and smiled.

"Before we're done, you will be begging us to let you die, bitch. My brother had a good thing going there and you screwed it up for him. When you screw with one of us, you screw with us both. I anticipate having a lot of fun with you."

He let go of her leg and stepped out of range. He walked out the door and headed back into the kitchen. She was left to stew on the bed. Stephanie looked around. All those lessons and practicing with picking handcuffs was going to be coming in handy she hoped. Ranger had made her use different objects to free herself. She promised to thank him when she saw him. She had to trust that they were on the way.

A small tear escaped in spite of itself. She was waging a battle against two dangerous people. She mentally scolded herself. She was going to need all her wits about her to get out of this. That stupid implant had probably alerted Rangeman to her whereabouts but that did not mean that she couldn't attempt to get free before they showed up. They could clean up and take out the trash.

Stephanie put her free hand up and checked around in her hair. Ranger had impressed upon her to always try to keep a hairpin in that mass of curls. Unfortunately, they all seem to have been removed. Her fingers found the wound and she said a silent prayer for her missing hair. Mr. Alexander would be needing all his magical skills to hide that until her hair grew back. Oh well, hats were in style this time of year, right?

She looked around. There was a small night stand by her side of the bed. If she carefully reached over and could open a drawer she might find something in there. Her observation of the room in general gave her the impression that not many women were ever there. It was barren of any warm touches like pictures, or knickknacks or personal touches that usually graced a bedroom. This seemed so impersonal.

She reached in and felt around the first drawer. It held only a few magazines. She could only guess their content. In her searches as a BEA, a drawer by a skip's bed usually contained explicit magazines of a sexual nature, and certainly ones she was unwilling to touch.

Stephanie carefully opened the bottom drawer and felt around. This one held some promise with loose papers, a frame, and what felt like a jewellery box. Carefully she pulled it out, trying not to make anything jiggle and make a sound. She hid it beside her away from any eyes that would watch from the doorway. She looked down and poked her free hand around in there. It appeared to be an older women's jewellery box with dated broaches, necklaces and clip on earrings. She grabbed one of the broaches and opened it one handed. The stick pin would hopefully do the trick. Stephanie reached up then quickly brought her hand back to her side. She quickly covered the box with the blanket. Thankfully she had taken the time to close the bottom drawer as Lenny walked into the room.

He glared at her then spoke. "I hear you were the one to get me fired. I had a good thing going there. I had hoped to be hired on soon. I kept my nose clean and took all the shitty shifts so that they could party, or give people time off. I served my country and they owed me. The money was good and I was ready to get my name out there for more contracts. You ruined it all for me and even more so for my brother. We hoped to tag team like we did in the service. We would exchange uniforms and trade for a few days each. Once we got the hang of it, we could interchange at will."

Stephanie let him blow off steam. She realized that having to deal with them both at once would be almost impossible in her weakened state, but if she could take at least one of them by surprise ...

She spoke. "You would have been found out anyway. Before you ever get on as full-time, we complete a very in-depth assessment of you, then a probationary period, then a final field test before you ever make full-time status. Too many people knew about your past and you would have been dismissed anyway. We found out your connection to Terry through a contact on your base. Actually he came forward and gave us more information to hang you with. I suspect that right now the Base Commander is almost ready to have you arrested for stealing equipment and selling secrets. Take that, asshole!"

In spite of her hope to keep him from hearing the latter piece of information, her Jersey mouth had spilled the beans. She blamed it on her Hungarian heritage.

Stephanie had always tried to balance her dad's closed lips ways with her grandmother's verbal diarrhea. Unfortunately today it had not worked. She blamed her headache for her lack of control.

Lenny recoiled. He swore and looked like he wanted to come closer and hit her. She clenched her fist. He laughed at her feeble attempt to defend herself and left the room. Stephanie could hear voices in the kitchen. Obviously Lenny was passing on the news to Benny. She could hear them get into a heated shouting match. Quickly she grasped the pin and reached up. The handcuff opened and her wrist was free. She quietly slid off the bed and headed for the window. It was closed but a quick flip of the handle and it opened up and outward. Stephanie had the blanket in her hand and lifting one leg over the sill, she silently crawled out the window. She was thankful that Lenny lived in a bungalow as she dropped to the ground. She raced in bare feet to the back of the lot, climbed the fence and dropped into the neighbor's lot. Only then did she take the time to wrap the blanket around herself. She was not ready to show off the pretty thong to just anybody. That should always be seen by Ranger's eyes only.

Carefully she edged through the neighbors yard and out to the front street. Surely someone would be around who she could beg for help from. The street appeared deserted. No cars sat in driveways, no children were playing on the lawns. It appeared like a development that had been cleared out. A small hiccup made its way up her throat. She was on her own. She had no idea where she was, why she was dressed like she was, or where she could go for help.

~~~o0o~~~

Rangeman was on the move. Stephanie's signal had stopped and Les had confirmed that she was at Lenny's residence. Ranger had advised the Military Police but had asked that they let him handle it since the community had been cleared and Benny and Lenny were no longer in the forces. They were on stand-by in case they were needed. They had agreed to stand by but when everything had calmed down reserved the right to access the residence for any sign of stolen military merchandise.

Multiple trucks raced down Highway 68. They were almost there. Bobby was in the lead vehicle with Ranger and Tank. The second vehicle held Woody, Manny, Brett and Zero. Zip and Hector were in the comm. vehicle. Team Charlie followed containing Maurice, Casey, Cesar and Tiny.

Binkie followed in his personal vehicle. He had missed his ride and knew he would be speaking to Tank later. He suspected that he would be losing his precious spot in Bravo and re-assigned to Team Delta. Delta was Tank's idea of punishment. Binkie groaned. He had just worked his way up to Bravo with Ram and Cal being assigned to Detroit. He hated to be on the shit list. Tank was very creative when he wanted to be.

The men drove up to the gated community. Hector made short work of the electronics on the gate and the trucks pulled in. They stepped out of the vehicles. Ranger started to motion teams this way and that. Everyone knew which house they were heading for.

Ranger received a vibrating buzz on his phone. He spoke softly into it. Les was on the line.

"Ranger, she is on the move. She is moving down the street behind Lenny's house. I think she may have escaped."

Ranger acknowledged the call and hung up. He motioned Tank over and quickly brought him up to speed on the latest development.

"I'm taking Manny with me. You concentrate on the target house. Be prepared to engage two unfriendlies there and I wouldn't put it past them to be stupid enough to have the arms they stole in the house."

Tank nodded. He was already mentally moving his men into position. All the men were well trained in urban warfare and would take the necessary precautions.

Les phoned Ranger again. "I think she is holed up. I suspect that whatever strength she used to escape could only sustain her for so long. I brought up the map of the area and she is in the backyard of 103 Corrigal Dr. Go get her, man. Bring back our girl."

Ranger motioned for Manny to follow him. He had his weapon in his hand. They whispered a few instructions to each other and took off at a quick trot.

Bobby stayed back with Tank. He had his field pack on his back, but the back of the SUV was loaded with carry-ons of everything from a defibrillator to a portable stretcher.

Time passes slowly when one is anxious for a conclusion. The men quietly surrounded the house and beeped on their phones. Tank took a megaphone from the front of the vehicle.

"Lenny Mappins and Benny Costigan. The place is surrounded. Drop your weapons and come out with your hands up."


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Everyone instinctively ducked as there was a rifle shot. The window of the Honda Civic exploded across the street from the house. Tank swore. There was the easy way and the hard way to do this and obviously the brothers wanted to pursue the hard way. The men crept a bit closer, staying hidden the entire time. They had all been well trained and drummed in training kicked in.

Tank received a number of texts simultaneously. Rangemen were reporting that it appeared like there was a lot of yelling and what appeared to be objects being thrown inside the house.

He picked up the bull horn again. "You are surrounded. You will not escape. One way or another you are coming out of there."

He dived to the ground as a short burst of machine gun fire erupted from the house. Tank swore softly. He hated this. These two appeared to be loose cannons and someone could get hurt.

Tank sent a text to all in attendance. "Keep your heads down. No heroics or you will answer to me."

Binkie sat on his heels leaning against a building. He suspected that he was the only one in Team Delta right now and although he would not complain about someone else sharing his immediate fate, he also hoped that everything would turn out successfully and nobody would get hurt. Binkie groaned to himself. It may be officially called Team Delta, but everyone knew that it really meant Team Deep Shit. Almost every member of Rangeman with the possible exception of the core team had been assigned there at least once. Tank had absolute control there and not even Ranger had tried to dissuade Tank on some of the tasks assigned. They had all watched as Stephanie had been assigned to Team Delta and her ensuing punishment cleaning the Rangeman fleet both in town and at the compound. Binkie wowed to remember to take his phone into the shower with him from now on.

Ranger texted Tank. He and Manny were closing in on Stephanie. Les had confirmed that Stephanie was stationary. He wanted to know that Bobby was on stand-by in case he was needed to provide emergency care.

Tank phoned Ranger."Bobby can be ready to leave at any moment but we are essentially in a holding pattern right now. How long do you think we should wait them out?"

Ranger thought about it. "I don't think they appear to be the type to hold out for long before trying to escape and you might want to force the issue on our terms, not theirs."

Tank was on his phone again. He texted Casey and Maurice who were positioned on either side of the residence. They were in a perfect position to shoot a smoke grenade into the house. They waited for the signal then lobbed in the projectiles breaking a window in the kitchen and one in the livingroom. Immediately there was a puff and smoke started to billow out of the smashed windows. Tank had already moved a number of men to the back in case they were attempting a rear escape.

Once again there were a number of texts. Coughing could be heard and the noises inside had ceased. They braced for the worst.

Zip and Zero saw movement just as the twins bolted out the back door. They hollered an expletive and gave chase. Lenny and Benny took a giant leap and bolted over the back fence where they came into contact with Woody and Brett waiting on the other side. Swiftly they were subdued and cuffed. The men continued to cough and choke from the effects of the smoke grenades. A Rangeman vehicle pulled up to the residence and Woody and Brett dragged their captives around the side of the house and to the street. They were placed in the back seat and shackled to the floor.

They were driven back to the front of Lenny's residence. It was a warm evening and Zip opened the side door to let the air circulate in the vehicle.

Members of Rangeman had taken up a protective cordon around the house waiting for the MP's to arrive. They had also propped open both the front and the back doors to let the house air out.

They ignored the threats and cursing coming from the vehicle and radioed that it was all clear. The men not assigned to the house perimeter started to gravitate to the SUV and wait for more instructions. The two brothers continued to scream at each other and the men. Finally not able to stand it any longer, Woody closed the side door and the noise level dropped considerably. They could still see lips moving and watched with amusement as the brothers tried to lunge at each other while still shackled and locked down.

They had not heard from Ranger or Manny yet and waited for some news.

~~~o0o~~~

Ranger and Manny walked cautiously around to the back yard watching for any dogs on the premises. Ranger was on the phone with Les and he confirmed that Stephanie was near the back of the lot. There was a garden shed in the corner. Ranger motioned for Manny to stand back and he walked toward the shed. He called out, "Babe, it's Carlos. Trust me, Babe. It is safe to come out. We caught them. I'm coming into the shed. You are safe now. Nobody can hurt you."

He carefully cracked open the door and let it swing wide open. He could see a bit of white in the corner. He stepped into the opening so she could see it was really him. Stephanie was crouched in the dark corner hiding behind some boxes. She had a rake in her hands and was holding it with both hands out in a defensive position, but it was shaking uncontrollably. Ranger moved toward her speaking softly the entire time. He gently took the rake from her. Her hands dropped to her side and she started to sob. Tears fell and she attempted to stand up but collapsed against the back wall of the shed.

Ranger reached in and scooped her up bringing the hospital blanket with him. He cradled her to his chest and murmured softly in Spanish to her. He wiped her tears away and smoothed her hair back from her dirty face, lovingly tucking a curl behind one ear. He walked out of the shed with her in his arms with her arms locked around his neck and her head against his chest.

Manny was on the phone giving the all clear. He wanted to get closer to her but he could see the look of shock in her eyes and stayed back. Tank and Bobby came racing around the house but stopped short at the sight in front of them.

Stephanie was shaking uncontrollably in Ranger's arms. She was very dirty and her hair was tangled with dried blood.

Bobby put his hands in the air showing she had nothing to fear from him and slowly erased the distance between them. He took one look at her and looked back at Tank. Her eyes were all pupil and he suspected she was in medical distress. Tank was already on the phone and they could hear a vehicle race up the street and brake suddenly. Stephanie cringed once again and grabbed even harder onto Ranger. He continued to talk to her as he slowly walked around the house to the street.

Woody was behind the wheel of the SUV. Zero was holding the back door open and Ranger sat down with Stephanie on his lap. Bobby jumped into the front passenger seat and they took off.

Woody looked at Ranger through the rear view mirror and he nodded. They exited the gates and pointed toward Trenton and the hospital. Another black vehicle slid in behind them and they sped off.

Stephanie finally began to relax slightly as Ranger continued to hold her and speak softly. He could feel her adrenaline crash coming on and knew that very soon she would slip into an exhausted sleep. He figured that that was the best thing that could happen to her at the present time and continued to speak softly to her, rubbing her back soothingly.

Bobby reached back with an emergency blanket and Ranger tucked it around them both.

Not soon enough, Woody pulled up to the emergency entrance. Les had already phoned and they were expected. A team stood by with a gurney and Bobby opened the back door. Stephanie stirred then looked horrified as she recognized the building.

Ranger climbed out of the SUV with her still in his arms. He walked over to the stretcher and gently placed her on top. She continued to have a death grip around his neck and he gently but firmly loosened one finger at a time until she had no grip left. He kissed her gently on the mouth and spoke.

"Babe, you were never released from the hospital so they need to check you over. I promise you will not be left alone. Either Bobby or I will stay with you, but we need to reassure everyone that you are OK before we go home. Please, Babe. Do it for me. You need to trust us that we will keep you safe."

Stephanie looked at him. He had used the magic word. The gurney started to move and holding her hand in his, Ranger walked along with her into the unit.

Dr. Evans was waiting for her and started to bark orders. The curtains drew closed and Bobby took Ranger's place. He walked out of the curtained area to find that Woody and Bones were already standing guard. He headed out to the waiting room and commenced pacing until he received word of her condition.

Frank walked in and they now stood leaning against the wall. There was little talking and Lester soon joined the pair. Tank arrived and they all stood by waiting for news.

Tank pulled Ranger and Les aside and related the events after they had driven off. It seems that the Base Commander of Ft. Bragg had been speaking to the Base Commander of JB MDL and they were pursuing charges on both brothers for various weapons and theft charges. They had both agreed that until it was all sorted out, Rangeman could place them in holding cells in their building.

After the capture, the MP's had entered the house and were now cataloguing all the weapons and ammunition sitting in boxes in the residence. They would be removing it and taking it to their base.

Tank looked a bit guilty. He looked at Ranger. "It's a good thing that all the ordnance was in a back bedroom because if the smoke grenades had ignited that, it would have blown everything sky high."

Ranger looked at Tank. "Maybe I should stick you in Team Delta for awhile. I have a couple of things you could do!" Tank went white, then he looked at Ranger. He was grinning. Ranger slapped Tank on the back. Tank did not feel like chuckling.

Tank collected himself. He related how he had been receiving reports from the guards outside the two holding cells. Lenny and Benny had continued to beret each other through the almost soundproof walls. They were blaming each other for the captures and the speed that they had been located and detained. One blamed the other for carelessness and ignorance and the obvious stupidity of the plan, and they had then changed tactics to blame how each had been raised with proper values that the other had damaged by association.

Rangeman had positively identified the fingerprints on the gurney that had taken Stephanie to the loading dock. MDL had taken into custody one Stanley Spooner. He had worked with Lenny and was still on active duty. He was being held on the base pending formal charges. He had already admitted his part in the abduction. Stanley was having money problems and the idea of some quick cash had tempted him to participate.

Tank was anticipating the Military Police to be knocking on their door anytime soon.

He looked at Lester. "Did you cover your tracks sufficiently or do we need to spirit you away?"

Les grimaced. "I called Silvio and he is on his way up as we speak. I managed to change who had access to that file and he has had a crash course in how it works. He can muddle his way through it if they come quickly but by late tomorrow he will be fully trained in its operation. I'm pretty sure that I didn't leave any identifying markers on the file. I put it all back the way the program was originally set out. Besides not wanting to be arrested by the MP's I don't want Beautiful to hatch a plan to torture me. She still has not straightened out Manny yet."

They all looked up as the curtains opened. Bobby stepped out and spoke to Woody and Bones. He walked over to the group. "Dr. Evans still wants an x-ray of her cheek. He has ordered the radiology porter and will wait to positively identify him before we move her down. I can go with her in the elevator, Ranger."

Ranger thought about it. He had not completed the trip the last time and would go with Stephanie and the porter. "No, I will accompany her. Just in case, you and Les hi-tail it down the stairs and meet us in radiology. Then when we are done, you two can watch the elevator as we head back and Woody and Bones can meet us again."

Everyone prepared to move out. The curtain opened and Stephanie was rolled toward the bank of elevators. Frank stepped toward the rolling gurney. He looked at his daughter laying so very still. He leaned down and gave her a small kiss on her forehead. She smiled in her sleep. Frank stepped back and watched them enter the elevator. He would be waiting for their return.

~~~o0o~~~

Rangeman was returning to normal.

Stephanie had been released and was recuperating up on seven.

The Military Police had arrived and proceeded to arrest the twins on multiple charges. One pair of MP's took Lenny Mappins away and one pair took Benny Costigan.

Unfortunately there was a third pair of MP's.

They knocked on Ranger's door. He had already been forewarned by the desk downstairs and had Tank in the office with him. He bade them enter. They marched in and stood in front of the desk. They were holding a file folder.

Both MP's came to attention and saluted Ranger. He acknowledged the salute with a nod of his head as he was not in uniform with head gear. "Colonel Manoso, we have papers authorizing us to detain Lieutenant Lester Santos on suspicion of accessing sensitive military software. We are authorized to escort the Lieutenant to MDL where he will be questioned."

Ranger looked at Tank. He then looked at the two burly MP's. "Lieutenant Santos is out of the country on assignment. He deployed last month from Ft. Bragg and it is estimated that he will be off-line for a minimum of six months."

The men looked at Ranger, then Tank, then each other. They saluted once again and about-faced, marching out the door. There was a buzz from the front desk when they left the building.

Tank sank down in the easy chair and sighed. Where the hell were they going to hide Les until they could clear up this mess?

~~~o0o~~~

Ranger let himself into the apartment. He could hear Stephanie humming happily. He headed for the kitchen and taking down a tray, filled it with fruits and yogurt and a bottle of red wine with two glasses. He walked into the bathroom and closed the door. Stephanie's eyes opened and she smiled.

**Just a quick note to thank Megan for her yellow pen once again!**

**Thanks Pumehana for your confirmation on military code. **

**Last chapter tomorrow.**


	18. Chapter 18

**All recognizable characters belong to Janet Evanovich. I only borrowed them for a little while.**

Chapter 18

Epilogue

Stephanie lay with her head on Ranger's shoulder. He held her nestled to his side as they lay on the warm, white sand. She took her finger and softly traced on his chest muscles. They twitched from the feathery light touch.

Ranger put his hand over hers and bringing them to his lips, kissed each finger then placed it back on his chest with his hand over top. They both sighed in contentment. The sun was setting on another breathtaking Caribbean day. Eventually they would have to return to their life in Trenton. Their first anniversary had come and gone. Their first year of married life had been anything but boring.

Ranger had worried about Stephanie's worst nightmare and how they had continued for a number of weeks after her abduction. When she grew depressed about Les possibly facing hard labour in a military jail for helping to find her, they had named the whole situation Operation Omega and joked about how Ranger had convinced the Base Commander of Ft. Bragg to add Les to the official transport list deploying out of the country before the abduction and Silvio to check that it would all fly in case of scrutiny.

Les's cover became a story about the betrayal of a terrorist from his home country who was earmarked for assassination unless he could be spirited away, and the catch words in any conversation over the sat phone had the sayings: getting to know you babe, finding my babe, or love is a four letter word inserted in the conversation. Unfortunately that meant that it was not yet safe to return to the U.S.

Les sent back pictures. He was now bald with a little goatee. His aviator shades were pushed up and sitting on the top of his head. He had a girl on each arm and was standing by a pool with a palm tree behind him. His board shorts rode low showing off those amazing abs. He was smiling and displaying two thumbs up.

Ranger plucked the picture from Stephanie's fingers. He vowed that his cousin would be in Team Delta for some time when he returned. He had plans for him.

Manny had been chosen as the lucky messenger and had finally delivered to Les the thumb drive with all the pertinent information on the pretend mission so that he would have his story straight when he returned. The core team had noticed that they were under a loose surveillance and Ranger had come up with the idea of Manny heading to see some of his relatives in Greece with a secret side trip.

Unfortunately, Les knew he would be arrested when he landed back in the United States, but surprisingly spent only a few days in the military jail answering questions. The fact that all the files confirmed that he had indeed left on military transport and had spent time on an off shore military base made it difficult to prove that he had been tampering with sensitive military files and he was reluctantly released and the case was dropped.

Les promised Ranger and Tank that he would stay off the radar from now on. Tank reminded Ranger that a box of Cuban cigars would need to be dropped off in the near future to the Base Commander of Ft. Bragg as part of the unspoken agreement.

Ranger phoned Tank every few days to get a lowdown on what was happening. Tank mentioned that winter in Trenton in March was once again brutal and if they were smart they would just stay there until spring had actually arrived.

Stephanie had met with the visiting programmers approximately every three months as per the contract. The program had been re-designed using some of the complex material that Les had changed. It was much easier for Tank and Bobby now to read and track. Nothing was ever said and the programmers took credit for the upgrades.

Unfortunately they had to go home to immerse themselves back into the Burg scene. Grandma Mazur was up to her usual antics and Frank was ready to have her committed, locked in one of Rangeman's holding cells, or put on a plane somewhere, anywhere.

Last but not least, they would need to advise the families of an impending arrival to the Manoso, Plum and Rangeman family. Stephanie was four months pregnant with twins. They had found out at the ultrasound that morning that she was carrying a gentleman's pair. The tentative due date was August 12th. This would be a new direction for the parents to be.

Ranger put his hand on Stephanie's rounded belly. He could feel the tiny movement and smiled. They had negotiated for a one shot deal.

Stephanie's hormones were on full alert. She looked at Ranger like he was their next meal. He laughed and stood up, helping his wife to her feet. He gently brushed the sand off them and they strolled hand in hand back to their secluded beach house.

Manny and Lester were now lounging by the door. They were the latest group of body guards from Rangeman and would be escorting them home in case they were targetted.

Tonight they were dressed as Hawaiian dancers with necklaces, bare chests and a malo. Stephanie stopped and pulled out her phone. She took a picture and emailed it to her Grandma.

Stephanie looked at Ranger. "Trust me, Ranger. They deserve it!"

**|\|\|\|\**

**Once again this journey has ended. Thank you for all the interesting reviews. Believe me when I say that they made my day. **

**I have really enjoyed writing on the fan fiction site but the time has come to hang up my pen. I am leaving with the satisfaction that I always completed the stories that I started. **

**I will continue to read, and if I read, I will review. There are so many excellent authors out there and I look forward to enjoying your submissions.**

**Myrna**


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